Kanye West makes history with streaming-majority number one album in US

Rapper Kanye West made history on Sunday as the creator of the first album to reach number one in the United States mostly through streaming.

The feat is the latest turn in a highly unusual release for album The Life of Pablo, which the brash rap star debuted at a fashion show at New York’s Madison Square Garden and initially distributed only through the Tidal streaming service.

But the album earlier this month became available on rival sites such as Spotify, bringing in so many streams that The Life of Pablo not only appeared for the first time on the benchmark Billboard chart - nearly two months after its release - but opened at number one.

Tracking service Nielsen Service said that The Life of Pablo sold the equivalent of 94,000 copies in the week though Thursday, 70 per cent through streaming - the fast-growing sector of unlimited, on-demand music online.

West far exceeds the previous record for the level of streaming behind a number one album - set recently by Rihanna, with streaming accounting for nearly a third of the sales of her Anti.

Both West and Rihanna are partners in Tidal, the streaming service led by rap mogul Jay-Z that has billed itself as aimed at artists and audiophiles.