Upon its release, there were concerns that Chance The Rapper’s Coloring Book didn’t stand a chance of earning a Grammy nod (let alone nabbing a Grammy win). That’s because album sales factor into the recognition process, and with Coloring Book streaming for free on SoundCloud, the odds weren’t looking good. Those fears were dismissed after Coloring Book scored multiple nominations, and later, cleaned up at the Grammys. Chance The Rapper spoke to Complex recently about the unfairness of sales metrics when it comes to awards recognition. Chance explained “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.”
Of course, this just prompted speculation about the time that Coloring Book did spend as an exclusive on Apple Music. Chance was forthcoming about that two-week stint, taking to Twitter to clarify for anyone concerned that money is sometimes a part of the music business.
So yes, Chance got paid for that Apple exclusive, but Coloring Book also streamed for free, allowing it be heard by tons of people without an Apple Music subscription. The Chicago artist is happy to be upfront about that info, and wrapped his thread with a reminder to other indie artists that you can make music and a living.