Apple Music Removes New Ye Album Amid Distributor Dispute

Ye, the rapper, producer and provocateur formerly known as Kanye West, has what will likely be the No. 1 album on next week’s Billboard chart, with “Vultures 1.” But on Thursday, the LP disappeared from Apple Music, one of the world’s top streaming platforms.

The reason was unclear, and Apple gave no explanation. But the removal came a few hours after an independent distribution outlet complained that its system had been used to release the music in violation of its service terms.

It also remained unclear whether — and how soon — Ye’s album might return to Apple, perhaps through another distributor.

“Vultures 1,” a joint release with the R&B singer Ty Dolla Sign, was set to be Ye’s comeback moment after a series of antisemitic remarks in 2022 made him a pariah in music and fashion — without a record label or booking agent, and with his lucrative partnership with Adidas canceled. In December, he apologized for those remarks in a social media post written in Hebrew.

After listening events last week at arenas in Chicago and on Long Island — where young fans flocked to hear his new music, and some shrugged off his past controversies — Ye released the 16-track “Vultures 1” last Friday.

It quickly became a hit at streaming platforms, despite a series of hiccups, including its brief disappearance online shortly after release, and complaints from Ozzy Osbourne and the estate of Donna Summer that songs on the album sampled those artists’ work without permission.