Sanderson Fandom in Turmoil as Iconic Soundtrack Faces Takedown

Fans of Brandon Sanderson’s sprawling fantasy series The Stormlight Archive have been left dismayed in the aftermath of his deal with Apple TV. Although many are pleased that the mega corporation wants to adapt Sanderson’s books, they are having to balance that with the loss of the groundbreaking musical composition Kaladin, the book soundtrack scored by Hollywood professionals based on Brandon Sanderson’s fantasy epic novel, The Way of Kings.

Kaladin is a 31-track musical accompaniment to The Way of Kings, developed by the musical collective the Black Piper. Since its release, it has boasted between two to four million streams each year on Spotify. Despite this, and the fact that Sanderson fans have been listening to it for nine years since its release, in February 2026, an email went out from the Black Piper: “Our humble contribution to Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere and the official ‘book soundtrack,’ Kaladin, is officially being shuttered.”

Black Piper have not been told why they need to close access to this long-standing and beloved piece of music. In a phone call with BFG, Black Piper producer and lead composer Michael Bahnmiller shed little further light on the matter. “It’s the nature of the business.” Agents of Brandon Sanderson’s company Dragonsteel (though not Dragonsteel themselves) reached out to the Black Piper instructing them to remove Kaladin from all major streaming platforms, and to remove it for sale from their website.

Although the official details of Apple TV’s deal are not public, that arrangement likely includes exclusive rights to developing tv shows, movies, games, and soundtracks. As the field of book soundtracks is such a small, new, and eclectic one, the same protections that exist for video game and film soundtracks do not exist for book soundtracks.

If the Black Piper were half as big a fish as Sanderson, Bahnmiller says, then they would be able to carve out a legal space for book soundtracks. But, given their respective sizes and regard for Sanderson, Black Piper, they are not contesting Dragonsteel’s agents’ request. Neither Dragonsteel nor Apple TV responded to requests for comment on the situation.

The move has generated backlash in the fandom, with social media posts protesting the takedown garnering thousands of likes. Hundreds of fans lamented the decision on Instagram, commiserating with each other about what the album has meant to them over the years and posting about their favorite songs from the soundtrack. “It’s just a great album overall,” commented Brandon MacKendrick, a fan of the series, saying of his favorite track on the album, “I love Shallan’s Lullaby, used to sing it to my kids at bedtime.”

Other fan music composers are concerned as well. Fellow fan music maker Zavodila has yet to hear from Apple about his fan music for Sanderson’s Mistborn series. Neither has the composer Stormlyte, maker of Stormlight– and Mistborn-inspired songs, who says he has “no idea what the implications of this acquisition are for smaller creators like me. It’s truly a hard thing to see The Black Piper pulling Kaladin off the shelf.”

Some fans would like Apple to grant a dispensation of sorts for Kaladin. Other fans, like prominent Sanderson Instagrammer LiteraryTrope, have expressed hopes that Kaladin could even be incorporated into Apple TV’s adaptations, “Which is unlikely to happen,” says Bahnmiller — though he adds he would be incredibly honored if given the chance to compose for an adaptation.

Bahnmiller emphasizes that he does not blame Apple or Dragonsteel for this, as he understands how Hollywood does business. “It’s great, this deal,” says Bahnmiller, who as a Sanderson fan is looking forward to Apple’s adaptations. At the same time, he is disappointed and a little perplexed by the sudden, enforced demise of Kaladin, as are thousands of Sanderson’s fans.