KANYE West has complained that nobody wants to pay for high-quality music after the controversial rapper was banned from concert venues in Europe and Asia.
On Sunday, the Vultures 1 rapper reposted several tweets that his frequent collaborator James Blake wrote about the music industry.
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James, 35, took to X, formally Twitter, to vent, not just about the music industry, but also about the fans who eagerly consume the music that he and other artists produce.
“Something I keep seeing is ‘if you’re lucky enough to go viral, just use the exposure to generate income some other way,'” the singer-songwriter wrote.
“Musicians should be able to generate income via their music.”
“Do you want good music or do you want what you paid for?” the singer-songwriter wrote.
The Assume Form artist followed up his first tweet with another, writing, “If we want quality music somebody is gonna have to pay for it. Streaming services don’t pay properly, labels want a bigger cut than ever and just sit and wait for you to go viral, TikTok doesn’t pay properly, and touring is getting prohibitively expensive for most artists.”
Kanye, 46, and his Vultures 1 collaborator Ty Dolla $ign reshared the singer’s tweet on their Instagram Stories.
Recently, the pair’s desperate search for a venue to stage their shows overseas failed.
The U.S. Sun understands Kanye went on a charm offensive in Europe in a bid to find arenas that would help him showcase his latest album, Vultures 1.
After approaching promoters in Madrid, Berlin, Cologne, and Munich, the answer was a resounding no.
He also tested the water in Asia, Australia, and the Middle East, and was met with a similar response.
NOT WELCOME
A music insider claims “it will be very, very hard” for the controversial rapper, who is slated to play the Rolling Loud festival in California on March 14, to perform in Europe, despite maintaining a solid fanbase.
“His reputation and the controversies in the last few years are the main reason for this,” the source explained to The U.S. Sun.
“Now almost no companies that manage arenas or stadiums want to allow him to do shows on their venues.”
A recent “listening experience” held in Paris earlier this month was described as a “rip-off” by fans after the new album was played in its entirety without Ye or Ty Dolla Sign, who has collaborated on the new material, picking up a microphone.
The source added even the organizers for the event in the French capital have come under fire, illustrating the strong feelings surrounding any potential comeback.
The star is virtually untouchable following an online rant about Jesus Christ and Hitler last December, while a stream of unconventional pictures of his wife, Bianca Censori, have raised plenty of eyebrows.
Kanye was hopeful of potentially making inroads in Milan, where he wanted to play the famous San Siro soccer stadium, especially as Inter Milan fans were featured on the song Carnival.
He was spotted watching a match in Milan last week and has good relations with Inter’s ownership group.
But the insider added, “the majority of the board are still against the idea of allowing him to use the stadium to have his show.
“They know that Kanye’s presence and having him doing shows at a stadium can have them make a lot of money, but the risk, and the image, is more important for the arenas and stadium owners. It’s going to be really, really complicated for Kanye to do shows in Europe.”
BAD START
It’s a similar story in Asia and Australia, according to a tour manager who works extensively in those regions.
He was stunned to see Kanye suggestively post on his Instagram a list of 25 possible venues, a move described as one of the worst decisions seen in the insider’s 25-year music career.
“The goal was to put pressure or lobby to get access and be able to do his shows in the list of venues that he showed on his post,” said the source.
“But we all know that it’s clearly very complicated for him to be able to do shows or tours with his reputation and the controversies he has been involved in.”
Venues in Dubai and Tokyo were also mentioned in his Instagram post, but were left shocked at Kanye’s presumptuous nature.
“It’s not a good way to try and start talks,” added the industry veteran.
“These places would prefer to not make money than have Kanye perform a show there. I don’t think the situation will change anytime soon, either.”
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