The new Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign album Vultures 1 has abruptly been removed from iTunes and Apple Music just as the album was surging in the charts and hitting the No. 1 spot in various countries.
Vultures 1 was removed from the platforms Thursday after its distributor, Fuga, reportedly said its upload violated a service agreement.
Fuga is a distribution platform owned by the Downtown Music Holdings. On Thursday. the company said it had declined an offer to work with West last year, but the album was nevertheless uploaded by a Fuga “client.”
It remains unclear what the company meant by a “client.”
“Late last year, FUGA was presented with the opportunity to release Vultures 1. Exercising our judgment in the ordinary course of business, we declined to do so,” a spokesperson for Downtown Music said in a statement sent to multiple news outlets.
“On Friday, February 9, 2024, a long-standing FUGA client delivered the album Vultures 1 through the platform’s automated processes, violating our service agreement. Therefore, FUGA is actively working with its DSP partners and the client to remove Vultures 1 from our systems.”
Vultures 1 was released Wednesday after a number of delays. Though it has been pulled by Apple, the album still appears to be available on Spotify.
Upon its release, the estate of Donna Summers complained about the track “Good (Don’t Die),” which was later removed from Spotify, according to a Billboard report.
As Breitbart News reported, the independently produced Vultures 1 has hit the No. 1 spot in multiple countries.
The album marks Kanye West’s first major work since his anti-semitic meltdown in 2022.
West’s career imploded that year when he made a series of antisemitic remarks — including praising Adolf Hitler — causing his corporate partners, including Adidas, to cut ties with him. Others who headed for the exits included Foot Locker, Balenciaga, Vogue magazine, and Hollywood mega-talent agency CAA.
At one point, West claimed he lost $2 billion in just one day following his series of antisemitic comments.
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