Kanye West’s hits keep coming: Here are the companies that have cut ties with him
A couple of months ago, “This is America” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also broke the record for most digital sales in a single week, selling nearly 4 million copies to date.
The track led to a flurry of activity in the music industry, with major executives from the major labels coming to Kanye’s defense, accusing him of overstepping boundaries with his music.
And it gave him a platform to spread his message.
“If I have a message of peace, I need to push that message out into the world,” West told Billboard in a statement responding to the controversy. “I believe in peace. I have a message that I can spread.”
But before the buzz was even at full speed, it appears the damage was already done.
Three months after the single dropped, four of the five biggest music labels – Universal Music, Elektra, RCA Records and Interscope – all said they had severed ties with Kanye West.
What were their reasons? It didn’t take long to find out.
1: Kanye West is the new Bill Cosby
Kanye’s relationship with the RCA Records has had its problems, mostly because West’s music and public persona as a black man often clash with that of former RCA Vice Chairman Jimmy Iovine, who has a reputation as a white man’s man.
Iovine was instrumental in developing West’s music business, which has struggled with the label over the years. In 2016, West sued his former label for $7 million for refusing to release the album Good Music, claiming the album’s failure to contain a single song by another artist had a negative effect on his record sales.
West’s latest album “The Life Of Pablo” was initially scheduled to be released in the U.S. on March 28, but the label later dropped it after its release had been repeatedly delayed. They’ve had similar issues with “The Life of Pablo”.
In March, West cancelled a