In the recent weeks Kanye has been known for his ALL CAPS captions and ranting about other celebs. Now he has decided to keep his ALL CAP captions to a minumum and focus on a new project. Earlier this year Mr. West announced that he would be releasing his 11th studio album Donda 2. The release date for this album was February 22, 2022 also known as “twosday” because it is a great day for manifestation due to its angel numbers. This was extremely exciting news for Ye fans and the anticipation has risen as the date has gotten closer.
As the release date approached, Kanye released some very interesting news over Instagram. On February 17th, 2022 Kanye posted a video of a musical device with a very insightful caption. Ye stated that he will not be releasing his 11th studio album on streaming service including Spotify, Apple Music, or Tidal – but on the service called Stem Player.
This announcement shocked his fan, but more importantly the entire music industry. It is a known fact that artist struggle to make profits through streaming services. The average amount of revenue an artist will make is about 70% of every singular stream totaling to less than a dollar a stream. The battle of creating profits for artist in a streaming world has been extremely challenging. Kanye West teamed with Yeezy and Kano Computing.
This team came together to create the stem player, a musical device that is suppose to change the way we consume music. The device is suppose too easily fit in the consumers palm and controlled with their fingers. The stem player also has four ridges on the top of it that gives the consumer the power to manipulate the music. There are four ridges on the top as well as buttons on the side to control the volume, vocals, beats, and gives the power to loop. This is an extremely interesting device for the average person to remix music themselves. The device itself has been circulating on TikTok showing consumers manipulate different songs to their liking.
The Stem Player thus far seems to be a compelling product, but how does this change the way listen to music? Stem Player and Ye are claiming that this device will “free” music and a new experience for listeners since they can manipulate music. As of now, I believe the Stem Player is pioneering a better way for the artist to make music. Within the first 24 hours of Ye’s announcement of the Stem Player, they earned 2.2 million in profits where he claims it would have taken 500 million streams to create those types of profits.
The Stem Player is an extremely interesting device for the music lover, but does not have the same amount of accessibility as streaming service. As of know, the Stem Player retails for $200. This is a pricey product especially comparing it to streaming services. Most streaming services have a free option as well a premium subscriptions around $10 a month. The streaming service subscription price is more accessible for the average listener at this time.
Overall it is extremely exciting to see this new device start to take off. This device really creates a new experience with music for those who can afford it. As of now, there is no other way of listening to Donda 2. Whether you are Ye fan, you must acknowledge his creative projects and what they can become. Mr. West is pioneering a possible new path for music and we will see how it progresses in the next few months.
If you are Interested in learning more about The Stem Player check out the website.