Chance The Rapper discloses details of Apple Music exclusive

Independent artist Chance The Rapper has revealed that Apple paid him US$500,000 to release his latest mixtape Coloring Book exclusively on Apple Music for two weeks.

Chance posted a series of tweets yesterday disclosing the finer details of his relationship with the company, as well as his decision to put the mixtape on SoundCloud for free once the deal was over.

I wanna clear things up. @apple gave me half a mil and a commercial to post Coloring Book exclusively on applemusic for 2 weeks https://t.co/dMWwptrHHH

— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) March 17, 2017

That was the extent of my deal, after 2 weeks it was on SoundCloud for free. I needed the money and they’re all good people over there https://t.co/5kIhv0YaKS

— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) March 17, 2017

I feel like if I didnt clear it up people would keep trying to discredit all the work we did to make Coloring Book what it became https://t.co/05v81I38ur

— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) March 17, 2017

I think artist can gain a lot from the streaming wars as long as they remain in control of their own product. https://t.co/6agVO3uIdf

— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) March 17, 2017

The tweets provide valuable insight into the nature of music industry deals that are seldom talked about or explained. Apple’s move to secure artists exclusively for a short-term window eliminates the threat of rival services such as Spotify, a worthwhile move when popular artists release new music.

While Apple has been criticised by other streamers and record labels for such practices, the company claims that they are utilising basic marketing strategies in order to gain an edge over competitors.

Chance made history with Coloring Book which was the first streaming-only album to ever receive and win a Grammy nomination.