Chance the Rapper has partnered with Lyft to offer free downloads of his new album, The Big Day, but the giveaway won’t give any extra boost to his chart performance.
On Friday, the ride-sharing app announced plans to host a “Big Weekend” celebrating the release of Chance’s debut studio album, offering riders and drivers alike downloads via its apps. The promotion runs through Monday (July 29), with no purchase necessary via its Notifications tab. (See full instructions here.) The link also directs fans to streaming services.
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Historically, Chance has placed an emphasis on giving his music away for free and in 2017 was the first artist to win a Grammy without selling traditional, physical albums. And while the independent Chicago artist looks to be heading towards his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, the promotional giveaway will not benefit Chance’s chart performance, as the gifted downloads do not count towards the album’s chart totals.
“I want as many people as possible to have access to my music,” said Chance in a blog post on the Lyft site.
According to Lyft’s blog post, the free Big Day download will be available until Monday at 11:59 p.m. EST.
This is not the first time Chance has teamed up with Lyft. In October 2017, he hosted an Undercover Lyft episode benefiting Chicago Public Schools and partnered with the service’s “Round Up & Donate” feature for his The New Chance Arts and Literature Fund.
“After working with Chance the Rapper to create an episode of Undercover Lyft in support of Chicago Public Schools, we were excited to continue our collaboration by partnering on his first official album with riders and drivers at the center of the experience,” said Austin Schumacher, head of culture and entertainment at Lyft, in the blog post. “From cassette tapes to passing the aux cord, music and driving have always gone hand in hand, and we wanted to create a new in-car experience. We’re thrilled to partner with Chance again, and to continue supporting artists who share our values to highlight their work and the causes they believe in.”