Apple Music goes all-out for Kanye West’s Donda live stream

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Kanye West Donda live stream
You can't miss the event in the Music app.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Kanye West’s Countdown to Donda event is now live and taking over Apple Music. The stream is being promoted prominently inside the Music app on iPhone, iPad and Mac ahead of Donda’s official debut on August 6.

Donda is Kanye West’s tenth studio album, following on from 2019’s critically acclaimed and Grammy award-winning Jesus Is King. It was originally scheduled to make its debut on July 23.

Although Donda won’t be exclusive to Apple Music, Apple is hosting the special “sold-out listening event” live from the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. You can now tune in using the Music app, or on the web.

Apple Music hosts Kanye West’s Donda event

In the Browse section of the Music app, the Donda event is heavily promoted in a number of areas. Apple has also published a tweet, including a link for watching on the web, to confirm the live stream has started.

The live stream gives fans a glimpse of the event preparations backstage, but very little has happened so far. In fact, as I write this, the feed shows someone asleep in a dark room, slightly illuminated by a TV on the wall.

Some viewers are complaining that the stream has no sound, but the Music app states it is intentionally muted for now.

Donda launches August 6

Countdown to Donda is expected to give fans the opportunity to listen to the album early — before it makes its official debut on Friday, August 6. But it’s not clear when exactly the event will start properly.

West has been temporarily living in the Mercedes Benz Stadium while putting the finishing touches on Donda. He has turned one of its locker rooms into a recording studio, which has hosted the likes of Playboi Carti and 2 Chainz.

Donda is named after West’s mother, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 58.

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