Thom Yorke and Spotify

While watching Riffs at The BBC on BBC 4 last night.  It occurred to me what a miserable dirge Thom Yorke's music really is.  He is a massively overrated artist and, this being the case, surely he should be doing all he possibly can to increase his audience, not shun them.

And yet, he will not allow Spotify to carry his music.  He should put his bolox up there so that the audience can refuse to listen to his music, rather than being denied it.

Yorke is in good company with The Beatles here, of course and, to be fair, I miss neither.  But AC/DC are an all-time favourite and I wish they would climb down from their high horse and put their full catalogue up there.

I can only assume that this is some kind of unfounded arrogance by these artistes. Some claim that Spotify and other streaming services do not reward bands sufficiently but, if this is the case, then why does nearly everyone else go with this model?  Even Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd have recently succumbed.  Many people, like me, used to maybe treat themselves to buying one CD per month but now, pay Spotify Premium in order to stream a wider variety of music on demand instead. It is sad (in the case of AC/DC anyway) that we are then denied some corners of the music world.

These people should embrace new technology and the new way in which people access music.  I think that record sales of all kinds will disappear and that streaming services are the future.  These luddites risk being left behind.

And on the subject of how sufficiently they get paid?  Already artists acknowledge that record sales do not pay well enough and that, in order to survive, they must play live and tour.  I believe that this is as it should be.  Music is designed to be heard live.  It's just sad that once musicians get a decent following the price to see them live is often prohibitive.