Music & Musicians

Kanye West is no match for Internet pirates

Kanye West loses album sales to Internet pirates
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Kanye West loses album sales to Internet pirates

You can't buy Kanye West's newest album, but you can stream it ... or download it illegally.

Since "The Life of Pablo" dropped on Saturday, more than half a million people have already downloaded a pirated copy of the album, according to TorrentFreak, a file-sharing and copyright website.

Representatives for West did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

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Illegal downloads of albums are not a new or rare occurrence in the industry, but "The Life of Pablo" could encounter higher rates of pirating because of its limited release.

The Grammy-award winning rapper said that his album will not appear on Apple Music or iTunes, and he has claimed that he will not sell it.

West took to Twitter on Monday to reveal that the album will only be available on Tidal, a music service launched by entrepreneur Shawn "Jay Z" Carter.

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The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has already issued more than a dozen copyright complaints to Google, according to TorrentFreak. While many of the the torrents have been removed, new ones continuously pop up on various sites.

The limited availability of the album angered some fans of the artist, who have refused to sign up for Tidal's monthly subscription service. Membership costs range from $9.99 to $19.99 per month.

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