Even before Donda album release, Kanye West has made $7m from listening event: report

Kanye West is proving to be a dominant force in the music industry and his billionaire status tells his ability to generate millions of dollars with relative ease. West is scheduled to release his new album Donda, which he named after his mom, who died from complications related to plastic surgery.

However, even before he releases the album, the rapper has generated an unprecedented buzz around it. He was initially slated to release the album in the summer and then shelved it indefinitely. News later emerged of an album cover and an accompanying film that did not see the light of day.

West, notorious for keeping his fans waiting, was meanwhile making headlines during that time for his failed presidential bid and his divorce with his reality TV star wife, Kim Kardashian.

Eventually, when he deiced to give his fans a taste of his new album, he did an album listening at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The stadium was filled to capacity. He hosted a second listening party at the same arena which was equally filled to capacity. West is scheduled to do a third album listening in Chicago. Even before the album is released, he is making millions through his live events.

According to Revolt TV, the album listening did some major numbers on Apple’s Music global live stream record. The platform reported that a record 3.3 million viewers tapped in to watch Yeezy play the album and vibe out to his own tunes during the first album listening. “The previous record was last year’s Verzuz matchup between Gucci Mane and Jeezy, which drew 1.8 million viewers,” according to Revolt.

Billboard also reports that the second album listening pulled 5.4 million viewers and generated over 1 million tweets at its peak. The platform adds that the second event generated $7 million in revenue from in-person merchandise sales, making it the highest-grossing in U.S. event tours since 1990 when it began tracking touring data. Taylor Switch held the previous record, after grossing a little under $7 million from her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018.

The upcoming album features several artists including Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, Playboi Carti, Baby Keem, Roddy Ricch, and Jay Electronica, among others. The album also generated an aggregate tweet of 6 million-plus even before it is officially launched.

West became a certified billion last April following the impressive success of his businesses. The 22 Grammy winner has a booming sneaker and apparel business, making him one of the most successful celebrities in the world.

According to Bloomberg, West is officially worth $6.6 billion, making him the richest Black man in U.S. history. But, according to Forbes, West is worth less than one-third of the amount reported based on its own calculation. It said reports on the Black celebrity’s worth are based on the magical thinking around sales that don’t yet exist.