Nigel Godrich and Thom Yorke rail against Spotify's streaming model

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nigel

In a series of connected tweets yeterday, Nigel Godrich, Radiohead's longtime recording engineer and member of Ultraísta, let loose on Spotify's streaming platform and the small musicians that its business model effects. Among the thoughts, Godrich pointed out that both Atoms For Peace and Amok, Thom Yorke's solo album, had been removed from streaming on Spotify. Though he also noted that Ultraísta's debut album (through Temporary Residence) was no longer available, as of this post, you can still stream it. Adding to the fight, Thom Yorke and Kieran Hebden of Four Tet agreed that the system is screwy, only benefiting the higher-ups in the industry. You can read the tweets in order below, then catch Spotify's placating response to the criticism at the bottom.

Thom Yorke's two cents on the streaming platform come from his Twitter:

And the thoughts of Four Tet:

Here's what Spotify had to say on the matter in an official response:

“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 per cent 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.”