Kanye West isn’t a businessman, he’s a business, man. Okay, that’s a Jay-Z quote (from a Kanye West song, no less), but it still applies to the Chicago-born rapper, entrepreneur and, as of recently, tech mogul.
Last Friday, West announced via Instagram that the follow-up to last year’s Donda record – Donda 2 – would only be available on his own Stem music player, not Spotify, Apple, Amazon, or Youtube.
“Today artists get just 12 per cent of the money the industry makes,” he wrote. “It’s time to free music from this oppressive system.”
“It’s time to take control and build our own,” he concluded.
So, what is this Stem player, and why is West charging $A277 for fans to hear his latest album?
https://twitter.com/stemplayer/status/1494712007953686532
West revealed the new music player in August of last year, the result of a partnership between the Yeezy Tech brand and London-based software startup, Kano.
The Stem device itself resembles a light brown hockey puck, with illuminated buttons arranged in a cross-formation over the face.
According to The Verge, the device features a headphone jack, Bluetooth capabilities, a USB-C port, volume buttons, speakers, a haptic engine, and 8GB of storage.
While that might sound like an old MP3 fossil dug up from rock sediments dating back to 2005, Stem’s selling point is its capacity for users being able to remix and customise any song they like.
According to the official Stem player website, the device allows users to control vocals, drums, bass and samples, isolate parts, and add effects, among several other neat tidbits.
While the product seems interesting and unique enough, the “Ye” fans were not completely sold on Stem’s remix and customising capabilities, nor the $US200 price tag.
https://twitter.com/Amanifwm/status/1494713020680970243
https://twitter.com/YourMusicWhore/status/1494541428168482827
https://twitter.com/gabriellaamarsh/status/1494529987667390464
So kanye wants us to spend $200 on a stem player so we can hear Donda 2? Gmfu
— TRAVIS SCOTT DAILY (@dailytrvis) February 18, 2022
As of writing this piece, Donda 2 has reportedly still not been released, despite the Stem player currently being available on the market, and – most likely – being the only reason most people bought the device.
Even so, placing all your faith in a music hardware device at a time when streaming services are so ubiquitous to be tantamount to smart phones and other smart devices, is a gamble only worthy of Ye himself.
