Kanye West’s latest Donda listening party might have broken two records, Billboard reports. The Apple Music livestreamed event went down last Thursday (Aug. 5), ahead of what fans thought would be Donda’s official release date. Although the album did not materialize on streaming services, Kanye’s livestream from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta pulled in 5.4 million viewers, which Billboard writes sets a new livestreaming record for Apple Music.
The outlet reports that the whopping total is more than double the current livestreaming record held on Twitch. Furthermore, it’s only slightly behind the 6.1 million people who tuned in to watch the 2020 Primetime Emmys last September, making the listening party one of the most-livestreamed events of the past year.
On social media, Billboard notes that viewers tweeted about Donda 1.1 million times at the listening party’s peak viewing, which is more Twitter activity than the 2020 MTV VMAs drew.
The Aug. 5 event also reportedly helped Kanye earn a massive $7 million in revenue all generated from in-person merchandise sales. It’s unclear whether or not the sum is record-breaking in its own right; however, for context, the highest-grossing U.S. tour since 1990 — Taylor Swift’s 2018 “Reputation Stadium Tour” — grossed just under $7 million per show.
Ye’s Yeezy x Gap partnership also recently made an easy $7 million after the release of the brand’s $200 blue puffer coat. As reported by REVOLT, former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler previously said the brand made $7 million overnight off the jacket sales alone.
Currently, Donda is available to pre-save on Apple Music and the streaming platform lists a “pre-release” date of Aug. 13. Kanye first previewed his 10th studio LP from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 23 and made significant changes to the record for its second listening. Apple lists Donda as having 24 tracks and the album is expected to feature JAY-Z, Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby, The Weeknd, Baby Keem, Roddy Ricch, Jay Electronica and more.