Kanye West’s new album, “The Life of Pablo,” may have lost $10 million since its problematic release on Feb. 14.
According to the New York Post, the album was only available via subscription to the music streaming service Tidal and on West's website for $20 per download.
West tweeted on Feb. 15: "My album will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale... You can only get it on Tidal."
On Feb. 16, TorrentFreak reported that "an estimated 500,000 people" had illegally downloaded the album on BitTorrent, an app used for file sharing, and that nearly 10,000 people were sharing the album on The Pirate Bay, a notorious downloading site.
The New York Post calculated that if 500,000 people had paid $20 each, that would have generated $10 million for West.
Thousands of fans who did buy the album legally didn't receive the download, got charged twice (in some cases) and got charged with a double $1 pre-authorization fee, TechCrunch reports.
Tidal will reportedly refund the fees, reverse the charges that were not fully processed and offer those who did purchase the album an option to get a refund or wait for the album's entire official release, which was moved by West, who is apparently making changes.
Sources: New York Post, TechCrunch, Twitter, TorrentFreak / Photo Credit: Tidal