Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign saw seven figures in revenue from Vultures 1 in just its first week.
Billboard did a numbers breakdown in a piece published on Wednesday (February 21). As previously reported, the album was released independently through the distribution company Label Engine, which advertises that clients get 82.5 percent of revenue. With artists of this stature, it’s likely they worked out an even higher number in the realm of 95 percent.
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With that said, Vultures 1 did 169 million on-demand streams in week one, which equates to around $892,000; plus approximately $145,000 from actual sales. This doesn’t even factor in global streams and publishing. So the magazine estimates the pair have generated well over a million dollars already.
What’s more impressive is that the album didn’t even have a full week to do these numbers, as it arrived on a Saturday instead of the traditional Friday. In addition, it was met with multiple hiccups on streaming services because of a discrepancy with its initial distributor, FUGA.
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The album was temporarily removed from streaming services five days after its release due to a complaint from FUGA.
“On Friday, February 9, 2024, a long-standing FUGA client delivered the album Vultures 1 through the platform’s automated processes, violating our service agreement,” the company said. “Therefore, FUGA is actively working with its DSP partners and the client to remove Vultures 1 from our systems.”
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The album was quickly reinstated on streaming platforms after Kanye and Ty found another distributor, Label Engine, who had previously released the singles “Vultures” and “Talking/Once Again.”
No matter the issues, Vultures 1 debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 148,000 album-equivalent units.
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Kanye is now level with Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand with 11 No. 1 albums to his name, with only Drake and Taylor Swift (13), JAY-Z (14) and The Beatles (19) ahead of him.
The album is Ty Dolla $ign’s first No. 1 and second top 10 following 2020’s Featuring Ty Dolla $ign.
Ye reacted to the news by issuing a brief statement to Complex saying: “It’s a beautiful time.”
Released on February 10, Vultures 1 boasts uncredited appearances from Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, Lil Durk, Chris Brown, Freddie Gibbs, YG, Quavo, Rich The Kid and others.
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Physical versions of the album on CD and vinyl are set to be released at a later point, with Ye’s store currently accepting pre-orders.
