Thom Yorke, Radiohead’s enigmatic, pony-tail sporting frontman, has taken aim at Spotify for what he sees as a lack of compensation for artists.
The move comes on the heels of a similar action by the members of Pink Floyd, who wrote an open letter to streaming services to voice their anger. Like the members of Floyd, Yorke claims that the compensation given to acts by services like Spotify falls far short of what they should be receiving.
Yorke took the battle to Twitter where he tweeted, “Make no mistake new artists you discover on #Spotify will no get paid,” Yorke tweeted. “Meanwhile shareholders will shortly being rolling in it. Simples.”
Typos and strange wording aside, Yorke backed up the talk when his 2006 solo album, The Eraser, as well as the album Amok by his side-project Atoms For Peace, were removed from the streaming service.
The move may seem strange given that Radiohead’s album In Rainbows was released on a pay-what-you-want basis that saw many fans downloading the entire album for nothing. Yorke attempted to avoid criticism by calling that release a “statement of trust” to fans who still value music enough to pay.
Spotify responded with a statement that claimed that the service may still be in the early stages of making sure all artists are properly compensated, but they are working within the industry to improve upon the current situation.
Whether or not a fan truly appreciates an artist, it is hard to pass up the allure of free music. As long as services like Spotify continue to exist fans will flock to them to hear the music they love while their wallets remain unscathed.