What’s happening with Kanye West’s Stem Player?
Last week I reported that West didn’t actually own the trademark for Stem Player from UK company Kano Computing. They do. Now Alex Klein from that company has Tweeted (see below) that a Stem Player 2 is coming. It probably won’t be with Kanye’s music inside it.
The Stem Player is a sound device that was unveiled last year. When it came out it cost $200 and contained West’s album, “Donda 2.” It was the only way the album was available, so few people heard it or bought it.
The music may have just been licensed to Kano, which owns the rights to the player. It’s unclear if Kano is still in business with West, but as I reported previously they seem to have declared independence from him on social media.
Also, Stem Player instructions also include the way to delete “Donda 2” from the Player so it can be used for other things.
Klein writes on Twitter today: “STEM2 will have a completely unique way of discovering music based on where you are and who you’re with”
No one from Kano has ever returned an email or phone call. It’s highly unlikely that Kano is continuing with West since its founder, Alex Klein, is Jewish, and so are several other executives with the company.
Kano’s main business, by the way, is not selling pop albums. It’s making computers and devices for schools.
