(Individual track downloads from Blonde are not yet available.) Ocean’s Endless video album, meanwhile, released through Def Jam on August 1 exclusively at Apple Music, has so far generated 2.19 million streams, or almost 1,500 SEA.
Advertisement
Early reports said that Ocean fulfilled his Def Jam contract through the visual album, Endless, but now the Associated Press says that the major label released the singer early. A source said that they did not know how many albums Ocean was contracted for, but said that, “it wasn’t going to work out”. Kobalt has also shown itself as a force to be reckoned with, particularly on the publishing side of its business; and its label services arm has made some aggressive deals.
But it took years for the follow-up to be released.
“While fans were antsy, behind the scenes, the relationship between the label and Ocean got fractions – so much so both parties decided that Ocean’s next album would be his last, according to the person”, the report read.
According to the AP, the entire Blonde album was kept a secret from Def Jam until shortly before it came out. “Blonde”, referred to as the “real album”, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
The FADER has reached out to Def Jam for comment.
Advertisement
The source implied that the rocky relationship between Def Jam and Ocean was partly responsibly for the delay of Blonde, and that Blonde was submitted “right at the last minute”.
