Kayne West shocked the world on Thursday when he announced Thursday that his upcoming album will only be available via his Stem Player. The Stem Player allows a user to break any song into “stems”. Furthermore, one can control vocals, drums, bass and samples. Parts of songs can be isolated and effects added. And it is all very tactile, using a physical device.
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Ye reported early Saturday morning that, since his Thursday February 18 post, there have been $2.2 million in net sales of the Stem Player. Furthermore, there had been $1.8 million net sales in the last 24 hours alone. To be clear, that adds up to 8,034 units sold in the past 24 hours.
The artist has pulled back the curtain on Stem Player sales metrics. Mr. West reveals $9.5 million in total sales since launch in 2021. 33,117 units have been shipped in total. In addition, stats show 142 players are in transit.
The player has already generated positive reviews. CNET calls it “a fun and highly functional improvisational instrument for modern times”. Jon Denton concluded it is “an incredible device”. Denton has a “profound experience” using the Stem Player. He found himself inside the music and interacting with it.
Kayne says it is “time to free music from this oppressive system. It’s time to take control and build our own. Go to stemplayer.com now to order”. In the United States, the Stem Player is shipping now for $200.
“We’ve made $2,227,012.05 in 24 hours. God is good. Thank you guys for taking this journey.”
Mr. West made clear Apple is on his “beef” list, along with familiar foes such as Taylor Swift, Nike and Billie Eilish.
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City of Gods, Ye’s collab with Alicia Keys, had its video drop yesterday. Mr. West shared it via Instagram. Here’s Keys’ Twitter post: