Kanye West might be considered a marketing genius.
As fans patiently wait for him to drop his 10th studio album, he’s been keeping them on their toes with several listening events. Donda was initially supposed to arrive in 2020, but it didn’t. On July 22, Yeezy had his first listening event at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 42,000 fans attended. The Jasmine Brand notes fans paid between $25 to $100 a ticket. The event was live-streamed on Apple Music and scored a new record with 3.3 million viewers.
Fans believed Kanye would drop Donda the next day, but he didn’t. Two weeks after, Kanye held another listening event in ATL. TJB points out he broke his previous Apple Music live stream record with 5.4 million viewers and brought in roughly $7 million from in-person merchandise sales. The article also says both events brought in between $1.5 million and $2.7 million each. Kanye made an additional $350,000 after his on-demand U.S. streams increased by 37 percent.
Kanye has a third listening event on August 26 at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Donda was set to drop after the event, but the new date is September 3, the same day Drake is dropping Certified Lover Boy.
According to Billboard, Kanye West says DONDA will release after the listening party in Chicago on Aug 26th. pic.twitter.com/lyDUw88Wn5
— Ye Updates (Fan Account) (@KanyeUpdated) August 25, 2021