Kanye West’s new collaborative album with Ty Dolla $ign entitled Vultures 1 may be removed from streaming services, including Spotify and Apple Music, after the distributor FUGA states it never agreed to release the project.
The album, which hit platforms on February 10th, is the first instalment of what West and Ty Dolla $ign have confirmed as a three-part series with a vast array of special guests.
Although it seemed to get released without frustration, according to Billboard, the distributor FUGA wasn’t aware the project had been released, and they have now hit out insisting they refused to release it last year.
In a statement released by the distributor, the company explained, “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.”
The statement continued, “On Friday, February 9th, 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.”
According to Billboard magazine, several other distributors also refused to work with Ye due to his record of anti-semitic statements and erratic behaviour since late 2022. Sample clearance has also proved to be an issue with Vultures 1.
Earlier in the week, the track ‘Good (Don’t Die)’ was removed from Spotify following a complaint concerning an unauthorised Donna Summer sample. According to Summer’s estate, West asked permission to use the 1977 classic ‘I Feel Love’ but “was denied”.
West’s Backstreet Boys and Ozzy Osbourne samples were also not officially granted clearance for use on Vultures 1. Ye has since responded to Ozzy, claiming that the comments may not have come from the musician himself.