Photo: WENN
Spotify has responded to criticism from Thom Yorke and Atoms For Peace, who demanded the streaming service remove their music from the streaming service, claiming that new artists earned 'f**k all' from plays on the service.
Over the weekend, Spotify listeners found that they could no longer stream Thom Yorke's solo album The Eraser, Amok by Atoms for Peace or Ultraísta's self titled debut.Band member and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich said: "New artists get paid fuck all with this model. If we don't try and make it fair for new music producers and artists then the art will suffer."
Thom Yorke then posted on Twitter: “New artists you discover on Spotify will not get paid. Meanwhile shareholders will shortly begin rolling in it."
Now, Spotify has spoken to Gigwise to respond to the claims.
"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 spokesman said. "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."
They continued: "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."
Thom Yorke live with Atoms For Peace
Radiohead's music is still available on Spotify, and remarks have been made about Atoms For Peace still being able to be streamed on Youtube - a service which many argue pays artists less than Spotify.
Atoms For Peace return to London for a string of shows next week. For more information visit Gigwise gig tickets.
Below - Photos: Radiohead live in Florence
