Atoms For Peace’s Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich have had their album Amok and Yorke’s solo LP The Eraser taken down from Spotify to speak out against the streaming service’s business model, report Pitchfork.
Godrich posted a series of tweets explaining their decision (read in full below), while Yorke wrote: "Make no mistake new artists you discover on #Spotify will not get paid. meanwhile shareholders will shortly being rolling in it. Simples.", later adding, in reference to Radiohead’s 2007 album In Rainbows, which was released on a pay what you can basis: "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."
UPDATE: Music Week report that a Spotify spokesperson has given a statement in response, saying: "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.
"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."
Here’s Godrich’s original statement in full: “The music industry is being taken over by the back door.. and if we don’t try and make it fair for new music producers and artists… then the art will suffer. Make no mistake. These are all the same old industry bods trying to get a stranglehold on the delivery system..
"The numbers don’t even add up for spotify yet.. But it’s not about that.. It’s about establishing the model which will be extremely valuable. 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.
"If people had been listening to spotify instead of buying records in 1973… I doubt very much if [Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon] would have been made.. It would just be too expensive.”
What about releasing your album on a ‘pay what you will’ basis, eh? Doesn’t tend to be a viable option for a new band who haven’t had a major record label building a fanbase for years while they’re peddling unpopular indie punk now, does it?
