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Kanye Says His New Album 'Donda 2' Won't Be on Most Streaming Platforms

In an Instagram post, the star says his latest album will be available exclusively on his own $200 Stem Player.

Sarah Lord Writer
Sarah Lord covers TVs and home entertainment. Prior to joining CNET, Sarah served as the tech and electronic reviews fellow at Insider, where she wrote about everything from smart watches and wearables to tablets and e-readers. She began her career by writing laptop reviews as an intern and subsequent freelancer at Tom's Hardware. She is also a professional actor with many credits in theater, film and television.
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Kanye West's new album might be available only on his $200 Stem Player. 

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Kanye fans hoping to listen to Donda 2, the star's latest album, on Spotify, Apple Music or other major streaming services might be out of luck. 

In an Instagram post Friday, Kanye said that his latest work will skip most popular streaming platforms and instead land exclusively on the $200 Kanye-owned Stem Player. 

The reasons behind the move appear to be financial. "Today, artists get just 12% of the money the industry makes. It's time to free music from this oppressive system. It's time to take control and build our own," Kanye wrote. 

Read more: Best Music Streaming Services for 2022

Kanye's Stem Player is a small device that plays music but also allows users to isolate the vocals, drums, bass and samples of a song. Users can remix, add effects, download mixes, play back and save their creations right on the device itself. 

Kanye says that there are currently 67,000 units available now, with 3,000 being made every day. 

Donda 2 is the sequel to Ye's hit album Donda, which was released last summer. Donda 2 is set to drop on Feb. 22.

Watch this: How to Download Kanye West's 'Donda 2' for the Stem Player