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SM: Why Kanye West’s ‘Donda 2’ Won’t Be Eligible for Billboard Charts

So far Donda 2 is only available via Kanye West’s Stem Player, just as he promised, but along with that comes the caveat that it won’t appear on the charts.

According to Billboard magazine, because the project is exclusively available through the device, it’s in breach of the Billboard charts’ merchandise bundle policy, which disqualifies albums that come with merch.

“Since the Stem Player is a fairly new concept, however, people familiar with the matter from both Billboard and MRC say they plan to continue to monitor its evolution as it relates to chart eligibility,” the mag writes.

Ye’s Stem Player has evidently been wildly successful, with West saying he made $1.3 million in the 24 hours following his announcement about Donda 2’s availability. If fans purchased the streaming tool this year, it came loaded with 2019’s Jesus Is King, the first installment of Donda, and Donda 2; if fans bought the Stem Player in 2021, Donda 2 can be uploaded from a computer. The device allows users to remix songs while playing them. Ye shared on Feb. 18 that he had sold 39,500 Stem Player units for a total of $8.6 million

Yeezy debuted Donda 2 in Miami on Feb. 22, and a day later shared four of songs to the Stem Player website. Two days later, he uploaded another 12 tracks, calling the 16-song package V2.22.22 Miami or the Miami Version.

The first Donda opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last August, moving 309,000 equivalent album units and scoring the biggest week for any record released in 2021. Drake’s Certified Lover Boy took the throne the next week with 613,000 units.

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