On Thursday, M.I.A. shared "Bird Song," the newest single from her upcoming album, AIM, due September 9. The version the British-Sri Lankan artist dropped with fans was produced by frequent collaborator Blaqstarr, which confused fans after M.I.A. shared artwork for a version produced by Diplo earlier in the week.
According to a series of tweets from M.I.A., the switch up is due to a dispute with record label Interscope, which has yet to clear the Diplo-produced version of "Bird Song." While she doesn't go into specifics, M.I.A. says she'd like the label to issue a clearance so she can release the alternate version by Friday. See her tweets and listen to Blaqstarr's "Bird Song" below:
@Interscope can you clear bird song @diplo version so it can be released this Friday !
— M.I.A (@MIAuniverse) August 13, 2016
Interscope wont clear the diplo bird song so it can't can't be released ! https://t.co/vYQONIWoEZ
— M.I.A (@MIAuniverse) August 13, 2016
@Interscope @diplo please sort it out 🐤
— M.I.A (@MIAuniverse) August 13, 2016