Tag: Thom Yorke
Posted inNews

Thom Yorke on YouTube: ‘It’s like what the Nazis did…’

Avatar photo by Stuart Dredge

Inappropriate comparison of the day – and quite possibly of the year – comes from Thom Yorke, whose latest interview included criticism of YouTube that escalated from an explanation of why he uses ad-blocking software.

“They put advertising before any content, making a lot of money and yet, artists are not paid or are paid small sums, and apparently this is fine for them,” Yorke told La Repubblica – his comments were translated by Consequence of Sound.

“Service providers make money: Google, YouTube. A lot of money. ‘Oh, sorry, it was yours? Now it is ours. No, no, we are joking, it is always yours,’ They seize it. It’s like what the Nazis did during the Second World War. In fact they all did that during the war, the British too: steal the art from other countries. What’s the difference?”

Posted inAnalysis, News

Thom Yorke: BitTorrent takes aim at major labels, Spotify and U2

Avatar photo by Stuart Dredge

We wrote on Friday about Thom Yorke’s decision to put his new album out through BitTorrent – the most high-profile artist partnership for that company so far, and the first to use its “pay-gate” feature to charge for an album rather than simply exchange fans’ email addresses for content unlocking.
Friday evening saw BitTorrent’s chief content officer Matt Mason talking about the partnership, with some sharp words for major label executives, streaming music and U2’s recent distribution deal with Apple.

For example: “Major labels have really given up on selling music, it seems. Pushing Spotify to an IPO is what most of the senior executives at the major labels are concerned with, which might be something to do with the fact that they own a piece of Spotify, and will participate in that IPO,” Mason told The Guardian.

Posted inAnalysis, News

Thom Yorke’s new album is being distributed via BitTorrent

Avatar photo by Stuart Dredge

Now THIS is interesting. Thom Yorke is about to release a new solo album, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, and he’ll be using BitTorrent as the distribution mechanism.

The launch announcement just came out this afternoon, co-signed by Yorke and musician/producer Nigel Godrich. The album is already available – check this post on Radiohead’s site – with the free download including an MP3 and video for the track A Brain In A Bottle.

Fans can then pay $6 (£3.68) to unlock all eight tracks, although there’s also a £30 deluxe vinyl edition being sold from the W.A.S.T.E. online store.

Posted inAnalysis, Reports, Reports-Old

Music Ally Report 331 – Moby Click

Avatar photo by Music Ally

Lead: artists such as Thom Yorke and David Byrne are putting the boot into the likes of Spotify but Moby is taking a more measured (almost Zen) approach to it all. He tells us why focusing too much on monetisation right now is the wrong idea, how artists will have to become polymaths and work both harder and smarter to survive, why partners like BitTorrent are to be embraced rather than feared and why railing against piracy is like yelling at the weather.

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