After building a career off of releasing music for free, Chance the Rapper is considering selling his next full-length album. In a lengthy video interview with Complex, the unsigned Grammy winner said that he’s rethinking giving away his albums for free because his material can’t chart. “I might actually sell this album,” he said. “That’s, like, a big step in itself. I kind of hate the fact that I can’t chart, really. I can chart, but the way they have the streaming shit set up is weak as fuck. It’s unfair.” According to Chance, 1,500 streams is equivalent to one album sale, which puts him at an obvious disadvantage. “Nobody listens to their songs [1,500] times when they buy it — fuck outta here! So, it makes it hard. I can’t really compete with other people. Not that the charts matter at all, but c’mon,” he said. Despite this 1,500 streams rule, Coloring Book still made music history: The free album was the first streaming exclusive to debut in the Billboard 200 chart’s Top 10. The rapper clarified that he’s not working on a Coloring Book follow-up (and dropped no hints about another holiday mixtape), but selling his music is just an idea he’s thinking about. “This is all hypothetical. There is no album,” he promised. “I can feel fans squirming in their chair, like, ‘Oh shit, he’s changing!’ This is an idea … I’ve got songs recorded but I’m not working on a Coloring Book or an Acid Rap.” Maybe Billboard will amend their streaming rules for Chance — after all, the Grammys did.
