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CNN Business
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Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – has lost his partnerships with fashion brands Gap, Balenciaga and Adidas following his anti-Semitic comments in recent weeks. Now questions remain About the business that first helped Yo break into the fashion scene: music.
In the year Since 2004’s “College Dropout” — his critically acclaimed and commercially successful debut album — you’ve been one of the world’s most popular and popular artists. He has had countless hits and 10 number one albums according to Billboard.
But all this can be jeopardized by the player’s recent behavior and opinion.
In the past month, you’ve received a lot of backlash for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt and making threats against Jews on Twitter. That has led retailers, social media platforms, fashion and entertainment companies to abandon it in droves.
But what does all this mean for the music industry?
Universal Music Group – one of the world’s biggest record companies – said on Tuesday that its relationship with Yee had ended in 2021, adding that “anti-Semitism has no place in our society”.
“Def Jam’s relationship with Ye as a recording artist, Def Jam’s partnership with the GOOD Music Label venture, and its merchandising agreement with Bravado expire in 2021,” UMG said in a statement to CNN Business.
“We are committed to fighting anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice,” the company added.
Serona Elton, professor of music industry studies at Miami’s Frost School of Music, believes that the music industry should now be divided into two parts: “What happens to the music in the market?” And what will become of the new music he creates?”
“Of course there are going to be people who have changed their minds about it, and their minds will be made up from now on,” Elton said. But there will be other people who do not understand the situation or simply do not care about his point of view, he prefers to focus only on the artist.
Some have already stopped listening.
In the United States, streams of Ye’s songs fell 23 percent and airplay dropped 13 percent between Oct. 13 and Oct. 20, according to Variety. This has led some to question whether his songs should be banned by streaming services like Spotify ( SPOT ) and Apple ( AAPL ) Music.
Elton says that’s unlikely.
“I don’t think music services are generally evaluating the moral standing of the artist,” she said.
Elton pointed out that singer R. Kelly, who was indicted on multiple child pornography charges in September, has not removed his music.
Spotify will not remove Yo’s music unless the account requests that it be removed, Spotify CEO Daniel Eck told Reuters on Tuesday.
“It’s really just his music, and his music doesn’t violate our policy,” Eck said. “It depends on his account if you want to take action or not.”
Eck added that their comments were “very terrible comments”.
As for Apple Music, it did not immediately respond to CNN Business’ questions about Ye Music.
One area that could show financial impact for Yee and Universal Music Group is music licensing.
Listeners can continue to buy the albums, go to the concerts, and stream the songs even after the recent hiatus. However, convincing filmmakers, television producers and advertisers to fork over big bucks to associate Yee and his songs is a steep climb to climb – no matter how popular the music is.
“I wonder if Universal or any other company would be willing to actively invest in promoting Ye’s songs for licensing opportunities,” Elton said. I think they will divert their energy.
