Welcome back Mr. West. The build up wasn’t pretty, but Kanye West’s new album has finally arrived. The Life of Pablo appeared on Tidal after Ye and Chance the Rapper closed out their Saturday Night Live performance. Not even 24 hours have passed (at this time of writing), but TLOP is already drawing claims of an “instant classic.” Even those alienated by Kanye West’s brash behavior can admit that his new album is very, very good. So, how do you listen to it?
As mentioned, The Life of Pablo has been uploaded to Jay-Z’s streaming service, Tidal. The only problem, however, is that Yeezy’s new album is running exclusively on the platform. That means that Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music and even iTunes do not have access to the newly released record. It’s a bit of a strange move considering that Tidal is the least popular of the mainstream music services. All signs point to Kanye striking a deal with his long-time friend and collaborator to draw attention to Jay’s struggling business.
But that exclusivity can’t last forever. The majority of listeners use the likes of Spotify and Apple Music to access songs, and Ye will be eager to promote his new work across as many platforms as possible. Not to mention the record sales that TLOP will generate on iTunes. For now, you can stream The Life of Pablo on Tidal by signing up for a new account or simply agreeing to a 30-day free trial. But that’s not practical longterm, is it?
No need to worry - The Life of Pablo streams exclusively on Tidal for only seven days. After that week, TLOP will likely be made available on the rest of the popular streaming sites. Though none of them have confirmed that TLOP will arrive on those platforms exactly one week from the album’s release (Feb. 21), there is an encouraging sign. Digital Spy reports that a Spotify representative confirmed The Life of Pablo will be made available on the site “very soon.” How long is very soon? Probably in a week.
So suck it up and go through Tidal to access TLOP for now. Who knows, you may even like the service. But if not, hang tight, as it’s my best guess that Kanye’s new album will arrive on the rest of the music sites by Sunday, Feb. 21.
