“Tidal’s use of exclusives from its star artists has ramped up the pressure on Apple Music, which is also counting on exclusives—and both are going directly to artists and then circling back to their labels,” Hits Daily Double reports. “These efforts run counterproductive to the needs of the labels, which want to distribute their content wide, while disrupting the relationships between the labels and their acts who agree to do the exclusives.”
Hits Daily Double reports, “This is a major issue as Apple Music prepares to go live.”
“Kanye West is making changes, distancing himself from Tidal, firing Roc Nation and managing himself, with an unofficial assist from the Jenner-Kardashian clan,” Hits Daily Double reports. “As for Kanye’s long-delayed album, there’s some chatter that the release will be connected to Apple Music’s launch.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We expect Apple to line up a whole raft of exclusives in order to appeal to the widest variety of musical tastes as possible.
[Attribution: iClarified. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Pistol Pete” for the heads up.]
I despise that pompous. egotistical, entitled “artist” (I use the term loosely) that as far as I’m concerned he’d be doing the world a favor by never releasing another thing and fall back into anonymity where he should have stayed. He is the poster child for obnoxiousness ever since he grabbed a mic from Taylor Swift. Apple does itself no favors associating with his poor character like. Being involved with a Kardashian only seals his complete narcissistic cluelessness.
So you may be asking “what do you REALLY think of KW?” 🙂
I could not agree more, I find it hugely depressing that such an overhyped asshole is even remotely going to be tied to Apple’s image. He is an appalling egotistical jerk, his talent is minuscule and his ego dwarfs Mount Olympus on Mars, the largest mountain in the solar system.
Well said!
And a huge FUCK YOU to all the pee on little twerps that can barely tie your shoes that are voting down Peterbloods comment.
Anyone who might support this no-talent jerk supports rude behavior and crappy music everywhere.
I too am saddened that Apple might have any link with KW. I will not buy anything he produces and will discourage my friends and relatives from buying or listening to his product.
I don’t like hating on people but this guy goes beyond the pale. It’s a sad commentary on our society that this guy does as well as he does.
*IF* the rumour is true, then…
FFS Apple / Beats stop tying your brand to such divisive losers, popular though they may be!
And for those defending the idea of exclusives with KW… remember, next time it could be Justin Bieber that Apple promotes an exclusive for.
I am not a huge Beiber fan but he has orders of magnitude more class and talent than KW.
Hmmm… I get the impression that you two guys don’t care much for Kanye or his music, am I right? So before this turns into one of those great MDN rant threads, which artists would you like to see getting exclusives from Apple? I’m not sure I can think of anyone I’d root for, in particular, myself, tho…
How’s about _not_ trying to amplify the market for a particular artist, but supply _all_ genres and include in-depth info _about_ each artist and genre. The celebrity scam is a dense shithole and I, for one, do not listen to stuff from that vapid mass of popular slop.
I’m not a fan of most popular artists, but Taylor Swift, Beyonce, John Mayer, Keith Urban, Daughtry, etc would be 1000 times better than the ones mentioned so far.
FWIW, I listen mostly to progressive rock (& metal)….bands like Dream Theater (who have been Grammy nominated twice), Enchant, Symphony X, Pain of Salvation, Haken, Seventh Wonder, Headspace, etc. More well known faves are Rush, Queensryche, Yes, Jethro Tull, Genesis, etc.
Any single member of any one of those bands has more talent in the clippings off of their pinky toe than Kanye has in his entire body.
Go to Youtube and look for “Dream Theater Instrumedley” to see real talent (even if you don’t like the style, the talent is obvious). They’re way more diverse than that track implies, but it’s a good display of their pure skill (it’s a medley of crazy bits from other songs, all played one after another).
And if you like rock in general, you’ll be hard pressed to beat Seventh Wonder or Enchant.
I think this untalented black guy’s demographic is more the Android crowd.
Apple really needs to stop slumming it.
Apple is supposed to be classy; Ghetto people are not classy, but trashy.
There is no question that Kanye West is an extremely talented artist and musician. Whether you like his some of his antics is a separate issue. History is full of eccentric, self-centered people who are at the top of their fields. He is, without question, at the top of his field, and is recognized as such by his peers. You show your true colors by unnecessarily pointing out that he is black (thanks for the clarification!) and calling him “ghetto” (basically a code word that has come to mean poor and black). More evidence that MDN has, over time, turned into a site full of comments that are distasteful, intolerant, and at times, blatantly racist. It’s really a shame.
-Longtime, jaded MDN reader
I absolutely question that. Whether I like his “antics” is not a separate issue, it is in fact the main issue when it comes to branding, marketing, and Apple’s image, his talent (or complete lack thereof) is almost irrelevant.
“He is, without question, at the top of his field”
Are you his marketing agent?
“More evidence that MDN has, over time, turned into a site full of comments that are distasteful, intolerant, and at times, blatantly racist.”
So it’s racist now to point out that an arrogant self-important full-of-himself prick is an asshole? I’m only allowed to point out white male assholes now? What if they are gay, is that off limits now?
I’m sorry but assholes are assholes. The color of the skin is not the issue, it’s the complete and utter and shameless lack of class. There are plenty of people who do all sorts of zany things but at the end of the day they have class. KW has none, I don’t blame the Ghetto he came from, I blame him.
“I absolutely question that. Whether I like his “antics” is not a separate issue, it is in fact the main issue when it comes to branding, marketing, and Apple’s image, his talent (or complete lack thereof) is almost irrelevant.”
“Are you his marketing agent?”
Nope, I actually think that he can be incredibly egotistical, obnoxious, and the like at times. I can also, however, separate his antics from his musical talent (something that you apparently can’t do). I said that he is at the top of his field and is recognized as such by his peers. Unless you are an award-winning musician, you are not his peer. I said nothing about whether this is a good move for Apple, but, if true, Apple has clearly done the analysis to determine that associating with him in this instance is good for the company.
“So it’s racist now to point out that an arrogant self-important full-of-himself prick is an asshole? I’m only allowed to point out white male assholes now? What if they are gay, is that off limits now?”
Nope, but it’s arguably racist to point out that he is black and ghetto, as you would likely never say “untalented white guy/gay guy”, nor call the white guy “ghetto”. Why not? Because it’s irrelevant. But apparently the fact that he is black IS relevant in your mind. That is how you show your true colors. Racists tend to dig themselves deeper holes arguing why what they say is not racist, all while showing that they are in all likelihood, racist.
“I’m sorry but assholes are assholes. The color of the skin is not the issue, it’s the complete and utter and shameless lack of class.”
Again, apparently skin color IS an issue. Otherwise, why point it out? We all know this to be fact already, anyway. Keep digging.
FYI – the equivalent insult for a poor white is trailer trash. 🖖😀⌚️
“Again, apparently skin color IS an issue. Otherwise, why point it out? We all know this to be fact already, anyway. Keep digging.”
If I had to dig through the core of the earth, and emerge in China and then dig my way back again, I’d do it to punch your face inside out harder than a Shaolin Monk for making being an asshole a racist issue.
I’d enjoy it too.
There is no question but that you are a tin-eared, uncultured and piss-poor judge of talent.
Kanye’s a piece of shit, and popularity has little to do with talent or quality. Reality TV proves that. Kanye proves that.
The sad thing is that what’s popular is decided by the music marketing people by pushing what they choose.
There are literally MILLIONS of songs out there…but why is it that 90+% of radio stations of a given genre all play the same 50 or so songs, and that’s it.
Is it because everyone in every city came to the same conclusion that those 50 are the best? Of course not. It’s because the music industry decided that those 50 are the ones that would dumb down the audience and make them the most money. Some actually are decent…most are crap.
They’re appealing to the lowest common denominator, that’s all.
I don’t care much for Taylor Swift (just not my style), but she’s a great songwriter within her genre and a pretty good singer, as an example. Kanye is garbage, both as an “artist” and human being.
Race has nothing to do with it, BTW. I wish that people who love to cry “racist” every chance they get would finally figure out that most white people don’t hate blacks because they’re black.
But we DO hate a certain *percentage* of them because of how they ACT and what they DO. We also hate the same behaviors in other ethnic groups…the percentage is just larger in the black community (violent crime, theft, irresponsible promiscuity, laziness, allowing rap to induce them into acting the fool, etc). This is a statistical fact, by the way.
And yes, that applies to many in the ghetto, as well as many of the rappers like Kanye.
Apparently his music peers and the Grammy voters are, too. And, uncultured is the best you got? Do you know that even the “ghetto” has culture? Keep digging, homie.
His “music peers.” Good grief, but you are as dumb as a rock.
The Grammy’s are nothing more than a glorified infomercial.
While you are correct that the ghetto has A culture, that culture is a very low one indeed, and does not qualify as a worthy culture.
Since you are lowbrow and clueless, when educated people like myself say “cultured,” we mean “high culture.”
Ok, I guess we are resorting to personal attacks? First, you know nothing about me or my level of education (which is likely higher than yours, unless you have the equivalent of a law degree from a top 10 law school, which I doubt given your lack of culture). Second, you don’t get to put a value on cultures, ya know? Only an arrogant asshole who talks about “high culture” would do that. You don’t have to like something to respect it and acknowledge it’s worth. I think your inability to understand that is the epitome of being uncultured. Also, it’s really cool to write comments and immediately 5-star yours and 1 star mine. But I suppose that’s all it takes to make the uncultured feel good. You mad, bro? Keep digging, homeboy.
Yes, we are resorting to personal attacks – and that’s because I hate idiots.
As for your “top 10 law school” silliness, that wouldn’t be impressive even if it were true, and yet we both know you’re lying.
At law school one of the things they teach you about is fallacious argumentation, but since you keep doing it you unwittingly reveal you’re ignorance of a subject every law school graduate really ought to know.
Also, I really don’t see a lawyer, even a dumb one – and there are plenty of those – sputtering out internet clichés such as “You mad, bro?” You sound like you’re about 15 years old and never even had a date or kissed your first girl.
And when you say things like that, you’re saying things that someone else thought of, which means you’re incapable of thinking for yourself.
All this said, I acknowledge your right to embarrass yourself by revealing your appealing lack of taste and culture. You stepped in it big time, and now you don’t know how to extricate yourself.
Please let this be a stupid rumor! Please!!!! 😰