Kanye West Got Zero Publishing on ‘Through The Wire’

Kanye West’s breakthrough single “Through The Wire” remains a landmark in modern music, widely praised for its audacity and lasting influence.

Yet new details reveal a striking twist: despite the song’s success, West has reportedly never profited from its publishing rights. Across the 2000s and 2010s, he built a career defined by record-breaking sales, awards, and cultural influence. Still, this early hit—a cornerstone in his rise—yielded no financial gain tied to its composition.

On a recent episode of the And The Writer Ispodcast, producer and songwriter David Foster explained the unusual absence of West’s writing credit. Although West played a central role in composing and producing the track, his name is missing from the official “Written by” listings on platforms like Spotify. Instead, credit goes solely to Foster, Tom Keane, and Cynthia Weil—the writers behind Chaka Khan’s 1984 hit “Through the Fire,” which West sampled heavily in his song.

Foster detailed the negotiation, revealing that West initially requested “50 percent” of the writing rights. Foster says he was open to the arrangement, but Weil refused, declaring, “‘F*ck that. No, he gets nothing.’” The result left West without compensation, while the original writers retained full credit for the track.