While fans anxiously await the release of Kanye West‘s DONDA, the rapper has reportedly raked in millions from its delay.
One way the Yeezy founder apparently cashed in on his upcoming album is by holding listening events. The first event, held on July 22, was followed by another two weeks later. Both took place at Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium, with 42,000 fans dishing out between $25 to $100 for a ticket, which Billboard estimates grossed between $1.5 million and $2.7 million.
Both times, DONDA failed to drop the following day, leaving fans on standby.
A third listening party is now scheduled for Thursday at Soldier Field in Kanye’s hometown of Chicago, where he will likely rake in some more dough — and is also expected to finally release his highly-anticipated 10th studio effort.
In addition to the live-streamed listening events, a source close to Ye says he snagged about $7 million in in-person merchandise sales. And that’s not all.
The buzz around DONDA has also resulted in an uptick of people streaming Kanye’s music. The outlet reports that his U.S. streams rose 37% between July 19 and August 9, which earned him an estimated $350,000.
So, if we do the math, Ye could have easily made somewhere close to $10 million before he even released DONDA.
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