Kanye West says that his Donda 2 album will only be available on his hardware Stem Player

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Kanye West - now known as Ye - has announced that Donda 2, his forthcoming new album, will only be released on his hardware Stem Player.

Launched last year, and developed in collaboration with British company Kano, this $200/£200 music tech gadget enables you to customise any compatible song by controlling the levels of the vocals, drums, bass and samples. You can also isolate parts, add effects and split songs into stems.

The first Donda album was also available for the Stem Player, but wasn’t exclusive to it. This won’t be the case for its follow-up, though.

Sharing the news on Instagram, West said: “Donda 2 will only be available on my own platform, the Stem Player. Not on Apple Amazon Spotify or YouTube. 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.”

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West’s announcement follows recent requests from Neil Young and Joni Mitchell that their music be removed from Spotify. This was done in response to false information about Covid vaccines being spread on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which is available exclusively on Spotify.

You can order the Stem Player now. West says that 67,000 are currently available, and that 3,000 are being manufactured every day. Donda 2 is set for release on 22 February.

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.