Photo: WENN
Brian Jonestown Massacre's Anton Newcombe has hit out at Apple, claiming they threatened to take all of his music off iTunes if he refused to comply with their non-royalty policy.
As Billboard reports, Apple Music offers customers a three-month free trial, during which they don't pay royalties to rights holders. The means musicians whose music is streamed in that time will not be repatriated.
In response to this, Newcombe wrote on Twitter, "So [Apple] has a new deal they offered me: they said we want to stream your music free for 3 months... I said what if I say no, and they said 'We'll take your music off iTunes. hard ball? fuck these satanic corporations."
He then proceeded to @ numerous music websites asking them to report his experience, saying "it's sort of a big story I have no heard publicly", adding that "a corporation is basically making threats."
The biggest company on earth wants to use my work to make money for 3 months and pay me nothing - of I say no,I'm banned
— antonnewcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
Wow,at least apple pays Chinese workers one dollar a day to make iPhones etc
— antonnewcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
My guess is that they will come out of the gate with shit streaming for free or low cost then blow everyone away with higher quality streams
— antonnewcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
Devils - they shouldn't threaten people to work for free.its not ok for these fucking idiots to decide art has no value
— antonnewcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
He later tweeted a picture of his new MacBook Pro - though he did acknowledge the irony with a "#Ugh".
Newcombe is far from the only musician to take a swipe at Apple - just yesterday Bon Iver's Justin Vernon tweeted his reservations about the direction in which the company has gone.
Gigwise contacted Apple who deny the claims. Last week, Apple rep Eddy Cue told The Sunday Times: "We’re not telling customers that want to buy that they’re doing the wrong thing, just like we’re not telling artists that want to make their music available for sale that it’s a bad thing.”
