Was Kanye West's Vultures 1 briefly removed from Apple Music? Exploring the incident

On Thursday, February 15, 2024, Ty Dolla $ign and American rapper and songwriter Kanye West's joint album Vultures 1 was taken off from Apple Music without any notice.

The album was also wiped from iTunes and the Apple Music charts, where the track CARNIVAL, from the same album, had held the No. 1 slot on the Top 100: Global chart.

According to XXL, the project’s distribution company FUGA had planned to take the album off streaming in its entirety due to service agreement violations. A spokesperson of the company told Billboard:

“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. On Friday, Feb. 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.”

Kanye West was also reportedly denied distribution services from various companies due to his past antisemitic remarks. It is unclear what led to the album’s delays, or removal from Apple Music, however, as per Variety, it could be due to West’s tendency to meticulously keep working on his music, often after it reaches the market.

Update: According to The New York Times, the Vultures album, which is on its way to hit No. 1, later returned to the service.

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Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1 album was briefly removed from Apple Music

Vultures 1 is the first volume of the studio album composed by rapper Kanye West and the singer Ty Dolla $ign. The project was released on February 9, 2024, and has already reached many milestones including the track CARNIVAL hitting the No. 1 slot on Apple Music's Top 100: Global chart.

However, Kanye West's new album was wiped off for a brief period from Apple Music on Thursday, without any clarifications for the same. The collaboration was still available on Spotify, Amazon Music, and other platforms, as per Billboard.

A distribution platform, called FUGA usually works with independent record labels to place their music on streaming services. The company revealed a conflict behind the scenes of the release of Vultures 1.

FUGA said the album violated their service agreement. However, once the album was removed from Apple Music, the FUGA spokeswoman explained that the takedown was “unrelated to our distribution of the album.” They asked media outlets to speak with Apple instead, as per The New York Times.

West was shopping for potential distributors last year after the severe backlash from his past anti-Semitic and racist comments. Before that, he had been releasing music while signed to Universal Music Group for years.

Independent distribution platforms such as FUGA give indie acts their chance to reach audiences around the world, as per Billboard. They exist outside the big label systems, however, such distribution sometimes leads to problems like hoaxes and unauthorized releases. The company might be working to authenticate the initial release.

Apple Music did not explain the removal of Vultures 1 but has since restored all the tracks to their platform, as per Variety. Kanye West's second and third volumes of Vultures will arrive on March 8 and April 5, respectively.