A week after Chance The Rapper released Coloring Book as an Apple Music exclusive, it became the first album to chart on the Billboard 200 without actually being sold. Now that project has made history once again, becoming the first streaming-only album to be nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Album.
Before this year, streaming-only albums weren’t allowed to be nominated for Grammy awards. But after the critical and commercial success of Coloring Book — and a helpful call out by Chance on “Ultralight Beam” — the Recording Academy changed its rules to allow albums that are streaming exclusively to be considered.
That shift allowed Chance to earn three out of his seven Grammy nominations from Coloring Book, although the album missed out on the coveted Album of the Year slot (which is a complete travesty).
With Drake set to release a streaming-only project on Apple Music this month, and Chance and others likely continuing to release mixtapes exclusively to streaming services, it’s likely that Coloring Book won’t be the last Grammy-nominated project you can’t actually purchase.