Chance The Rapper May Charge For His Next Album

Since the start of his career in 2012, Chance The Rapper has put out six mixtapes all for free. From his debut mixtape “10 Day” to his latest Grammy-winning project “Coloring Book,” the Chicago rapper has never charged a cent for his releases but he is second-guessing that practice.

The subject of Complex magazine’s latest cover story, the 23-year-old revealed that he is considering selling his next album. “I might actually sell this album. That’s like a big step in itself. I kind of hate that I can’t chart, really. I can chart, but the way they have [streaming] set up is weak,” he said, adding that it’s “unfair.”

As the rapper said, even though his free mixtapes are only released on streaming music services, the projects can and have charted. His second mixtape, “Acid Rap,” made it to No. 63 on the Billboard R&B and Hip-Hop chart while “Coloring Book” made it all the way to No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart.

But while his projects can chart, Chance said the music industry has made it difficult for artists dealing with streams. “1,500 streams is the equivalent to one [album sale] and that’s just unfair. Nobody listens to their songs [1,500] times whey buy it,” he said. “So it makes it hard. I can’t really compete with other people.”

In 2016, the RIAA debuted its new plan to award gold and platinum albums with streams. According to the new criteria, 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video song streams equals 10 track sales which equals one album sale. Also, 150 on-demand streams now equal one download.

With ideas of charging for an album now floating around his head, Chance made sure to point out that it was all hypothetical and there was no actual album on the way. “There is no album. I can feel fans squirming in their chair,” he joked. “I’ve got songs recorded but I’m not working on a ‘Coloring Book’ or ‘Acid Rap.’”

In February, Chance The Rapper’s “Coloring Book” became the first streaming-only album ever to win a Grammy when he took home the award for best rap album. “I didn’t think we were going to get this one,” he said during his acceptance speech.