Thom Yorke: Spotify is bad for new music

The Radiohead frontman is taking down a few of his albums to protest the online music streaming service

Published July 15, 2013 2:29PM (EDT)

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and producer Nigel Godrich have removed several of their albums from Spotify after excoriating the online music streaming company for not supporting smaller artists.

The two took to Twitter to say that the company is "bad for new music." Yorke retweeted Godrich's statements that they are staging a "small meaningless rebellion." Godrich's "Ultraista," Yorke's recently collaborative project by Atoms for Peace, "AMOK" and his solo album, "Eraser" have been pulled from the site:

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The artists claim that the service pays next to nothing in royalties, thus crippling bands who aren't as established:

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Spotify is currently the world's largest music streaming service and told the BBC that it has paid $500 million to artists since its launch in 2008, and expects to pay another $500 million to rights holders this year.

"We're 100 percent 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," the site told the BBC.


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Music Nigel Godrich Radiohead Spotify Thom Yorke