Five days after Kanye West’s Vultures 1 album was released on Apple Music, the album was quickly removed due to copyright violation concerns.
The album was taken down from Apple Music and iTunes on Thursday afternoon. His daughter North had blogged about it in a since-deleted TikTok. The song “Carnaval” had been the top song on the Top 100: Global list.
Kanye West’s controversial album Vultures 1 is REMOVED from Apple Music
The action is being taken in response to rumors that the distributor of Vultures 1 is trying to take it down from all streaming platforms after Kanye allegedly uploaded it to several sites without authorization, according to Billboard.
The album’s initial streaming problems occurred on Wednesday when the song Good (Don’t Die) was taken down by Spotify as a result of allegations of “copyright infringement” filed by Donna Summer’s estate.
The distributor, FUGA, said in a statement today: ‘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.’
As of now, the album continues to be accessible on Spotify; however, the track Good (Don’t Die) is currently unplayable on the platform.
On Thursday afternoon, the album was removed from Apple Music and iTunes, where the song Carnival had held the No. 1 slot on the Top 100: Global chart
This comes after the Rolling Loud music festival announced Kanye and his Vultures 1 collaborator Ty Dolla Sign as the headliners for their March 14 concert in Inglewood, CA.
It also follows Donna Summer’s estate accusing Kanye of using a sample of her song without consent on Good (Don’t Die).
The rapper reportedly incorporated a version of the late singer’s 1977 hit I Feel Love into the track.
The official Instagram page of the late singer claimed Kanye’s prior request to use the song had been rejected.
‘Kanye West…asked permission to use Donna Summer’s song I Feel Love,’ read the account’s post on Instagram Stories. ‘He was denied…he changed the words, had someone re sing [sic] it or used AI but it’s I Feel Love…copyright infringement!!!’
The post also tagged Sharon Osbourne, as she joined her husband Ozzy Osbourne in calling out Kanye for using an unauthorized sample of a Black Sabbath song on Friday.
The drama began after the British rock star said he wants ‘no association’ with West, who has a long history of making antisemitic comments, following a listening party for the rapper’s upcoming Vultures album, which features a snippet of Ozzy’s band’s hit War Pigs.
Sharon, whose father Don Arden was Jewish, said that the couple fired off a cease and desist to Kanye, per her interview with TMZ on Friday.
The reports also come after the rapper updated Vultures Volume 1 album cover by swapping out the Friday The 13th-inspired mask for a black face covering.