Kanye and Ty Dolla Sign’s ‘Vultures 1’ Pulled From Apple After Distributor Said It’s ‘Actively Working’ to Remove It

The distributor behind the recent release of the artist formerly known as Kanye West‘s Vultures 1 project with Ty Dolla Sign says it’s “actively working” to have the album removed.

As first reported by Elias Leight for Billboard, the album, the first in a planned three-part trilogy, was released through FUGA. The company’s services include music distribution, physical distribution, rights management, and more. FUGA bills itself as “the number one choice” in the distribution space, specifically pointing to its “highly advanced distribution technology” on its official website.

According to a FUGA rep, the company “declined” to commit to a Vultures 1 release last year despite FUGA being linked to its streaming arrival this month. Credits on YouTube, for example, are listed as being “provided to YouTube by IIP-DDS,” a.k.a. FUGA.

“Late last year, FUGA was presented with the opportunity to release Vultures 1,” the company rep told the publication in a report shared Thursday. “Exercising our judgment in the ordinary course of business, we declined to do so.”

As for last week’s release and efforts to have it removed, the rep pointed to a “service agreement” violation. As alleged by the rep, “a long-standing FUGA client delivered the album Vultures 1 through the platform’s automated processes.”

Complex has reached out to FUGA reps for comment.

At the time of this writing, Vultures 1 has been removed from Apple Music. YesJulz, who has been in Kanye’s camp as of late, appeared to confirm that FUGA was behind the removal with a simple but pointed tweet.