Nicki Minaj
Source: Instagram
Nicki Minaj Calls Out Spotify and Travis Scott Over "Queen" Sales
Minaj says Spotify canceled advertising for "Queen" to "teach her a lesson" and claims Travis Scott's "Astroworld" is not the no.1 album in the country.
After Nicki Minaj’s latest album, Queen debuted at no. 2 on the Billboard 200 and Travis Scott’s Astroworld spends its second week at no.1, the artist says Spotify is punishing her and argues Scott gamed the system by using girlfriend Kylie Jenner and their baby to bolster his sales.
Minaj claims Spotify canceled a portion of advertising for her album's rollout after she played her music early on Apple's Beats1.
\u201cSpotify put drake\u2019s face on every playlist but told me they\u2019d have to teach me a lesson for playing my music 10 mins early on #QueenRadio. Even tho they\u2019ve been giving away my music for free for years & I am one of the top Spotify artists of all time.\u201d— Nicki Minaj (@Nicki Minaj) 1534712865
\u201cSpotify had to teach me a lesson but rewarded the man who has had an Apple radio show the longest; inadvertently helping the Apple platform the most. Oh I can\u2019t wait for #QueenRadio on Tuesday. They took away my promotion they had promised for the 1st cpl days b/c of this. #Queen\u201d— Nicki Minaj (@Nicki Minaj) 1534713013
\u201cMy music went up on Apple so I played it. I assumed it was on Spotify & Tidal at the same time. Spotify said that Apple tweeted fans advising #Queen was up & therefore they had to teach me a lesson. But PRAISE BE TO GOD!!!!!!\u201d— Nicki Minaj (@Nicki Minaj) 1534713113
"I put my blood sweat & tears in writing a dope album only for Travis Scott to have Kylie Jenner post a tour pass telling ppl to come see her & Stormi," Minaj tweeted on Sunday.
She continued, "My first album sold 400K. No one is doing that with debut albums now. So I’m so grateful. I lost out on 12 hours of sales and did 200K in one week after I was supposedly cancelled."
Minaj also claims that after speaking with Scott, he admitted that he does not have the no. 1 album in the country. "I spoke to him. He knows he doesn’t have the #1 album this week. I love my fans for the #1 album in AMERICA!" she tweeted, saying that she'd explain the situation further on the forthcoming episode of her Beats 1 show, Queen Radio.
Minaj's album debuted at #2 with 185,000 equivalent album units sold while Scott's holds the top spot with 205,000 units sold.
\u201cI put my blood sweat & tears in writing a dope album only for Travis Scott to have Kylie Jenner post a tour pass telling ppl to come see her & Stormi. lol. Im actually laughing. #Queen broke the record of being number 1 in 86 countries. Thank Jesus & thank you to my fans.\u201d— Nicki Minaj (@Nicki Minaj) 1534711416
\u201cTravis sold over 50K of these. With no requirement of redeeming the album! With no dates for a tour, etc. I spoke to him. He knows he doesn\u2019t have the #1 album this week. I love my fans for the #1 album in AMERICA! I\u2019ll explain on #QueenRadio 4 albums in, #1 in 86 countries \u2665\ufe0f\u201d— Nicki Minaj (@Nicki Minaj) 1534710957
Nick also questioned the numbers of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Nas while chiding Billboard.
\u201cI looked at the numbers the Carters, Kanye, Nas, etc recently did. Travis sold 200K in his first week of clothes alone. I spoke to him last night & he said he\u2019s been selling clothes b4 the music. Billboard says they\u2019ll change the rules cuz of this, so it should be changed now!\u201d— Nicki Minaj (@Nicki Minaj) 1534711216
