Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke and his longtime producer Nigel Godrich have publicly spoken out against Spotify.
“We’re off of spotify…Can’t do that no more man…Someone gotta say something. It’s bad for new music…The reason is that new artists get paid [bleep] all with this model… It’s an equation that just doesn’t work,” Godrich tweeted over the weekend.
He continued, “Meanwhile small labels and new artists can’t even keep their lights on. It’s just not right…Plus people are scared to speak up or not take part as they are told they will lose invaluable exposure if they don’t play ball…”
Godrich announced the removal of his latest album with Yorke — Atoms For Peace’s “AMOK” — from the service. Godrich has also removed his band Ultraista’s debut album, and Yorke’s solo album “The Eraser” has been pulled as well.
Yorke retweeted Godrich’s posts and added, “Make no mistake new artists you discover on #Spotify will no [sic] get paid. meanwhile shareholders will shortly being rolling in it. Simples.”
He then referred to Radiohead’s popular pay-what-you-want 2007 album “In Rainbows.”
“For me In Rainbows was a statement of trust. people still value new music ..that’s all we’d like from Spotify. don’t make us the target,” Yorke posted.
In response to Godrich and Yorke’s protest, Spotify released the following statement to Music Week: “Spotify’s goal is to grow a service which people love, ultimately want to pay for, and which will provide the financial support to the music industry necessary to invest in new talent and music,” a company spokesperson said today.
“We want to help artists connect with their fans, find new audiences, grow their fan base and make a living from the music we all love.
“Right now we’re still in the early stages of a long-term project that’s already having a hugely positive effect on artists and new music. We’ve already paid US$500M to rightsholders so far and by the end of 2013 this number will reach US$1bn. Much of this money is being invested in nurturing new talent and producing great new music.
“We’re 100% committed to making Spotify the most artist-friendly music service possible, and are constantly talking to artists and managers about how Spotify can help build their careers.”