Nigel Godrich

Thom Yorke appears to have responded to producer Stephen Street's criticism over his yanking of tracks from Spotify, claiming he gave away Radiohead's album In Rainbows as a "statement of trust."

Earlier this week, Yorke and Nigel Godrich delivered a scathing critique of the streaming service's business model before making both his solo and Atoms for Peace tracks unavailable.

"The reason is that new artists get paid f*ck all with this model.. It's an equation that just doesn't work," said Godrich in one of several messages re-tweeted by Yorke. 

Continue reading: Thom Yorke Pleads "Don't Make Us The Target" After Spotify Backlash

Thom Yorke’s statement will have hit Spotify’s PR team like a knife to the chest. The well-respected musician pulled his music off the streaming service, condemning its practice, specifically the payment to artists, which Yorke says works for the shareholders but not for the musical talent.

Thom Yorke doing his thing in Manchester

Nigel Godrich, Radiohead producer and member of Atoms For Peace, sent out a series of Tweets attacking Spotify. He wrote: “We’re off of Spotify. It’s bad for new music. The reason is that new artists get paid f**k all with this model. It’s an equation that just doesn’t work.” Yorke added: “Make no mistake, new artists you discover on Spotify will not get paid. Meanwhile shareholders will shortly be rolling in it. Simples.” The singer said he was “standing up for our fellow musicians.”

Continue reading: Hold Up, Is Thom Yorke Right To Be So High And Mighty?

The British music producer Stephen Street, best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s and Blur in the 1990s, has weighed into the debate over Spotify's royalties model in the wake of Radiohead's Thom Yorke pulling his music from the streaming service. Currently, the web company - which offers 20 million songs - pays artists as little as 0.4p per stream. To put it into context, a song with one million plays would earn the artist £3,800.

It prompted Yorke and long-time producer Nigel Godrich to publically criticize Spotify on Twitter this week, with the Radiohead frontman pulling his solo work as well as his Atoms for Peace tracks from the service. 

Godrich wrote: "We're off of Spotify. It's bad for new music. The reason is that new artists get paid f**k all with this model. It's an equation that just doesn't work."

Continue reading: Stephen Street Accuses Thom Yorke Of Hypocrisy Over Spotify Blackout

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has pulled both his solo songs and those made with group Atoms For Peace from music streaming service Spotify over the company's current royalties model. Yorke and his long-time producer Nigel Godrich took to Twitter this week to explain their reasoning for yanking the tracks.

"The numbers don't even add up for Spotify yet. But it's not about that. It's about establishing the model which will be extremely valuable," Godrich tweeted. "Meanwhile small labels and new artists can't even keep their lights on. It's just not right."

He continued: "Streaming suits [back] catalogue. But [it] cannot work as a way of supporting new artists' work. Spotify and the like either have to address that fact and change the model for new releases or else all new music producers should be bold and vote with their feet. [Streaming services] have no power without new music."

Continue reading: How To Disappear Completely: Thom Yorke Yanks Songs From Spotify

Much as My Bloody Valentine did by dropping their latest album at a couple of days notice, so Thom Yorke’s Atoms For Peace have sent the music press scurrying to desperately make their opinion public first, in light of the release of their debut album together, AMOK.

Atoms For Peace, which includes Radiohead front man Thom Yorke, as well as producer Nigel Godrich and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, among others, streamed their album for a limited time on their official site last week ahead of its official release today (February 25, 2013), following reports that it had been leaked onto the internet, and the group have since played their first show in it's support – appearing in London last Friday (February 22, 2013). But what do the critics think of the LP? Opinion seems divided; Uncut magazine couldn’t be more effusive in their praise, writing “A team of skilled journeymen falling in behind an enigmatic guru and his ominous yet often curiously groovy vision.” Clash Magazine back that up, claiming “Amok provides a murky and complicated landscape that sounds like very little else - except the scorched testing ground from which we’ll witness Yorke deservedly going atomic once again.”

However, The Daily Telegraph aren’t so convinced; they say “Yorke seems to have become increasingly conflicted about the very idea of communication, his fondness for cliché indicating a tendency towards self-sabotage.” Their sentiments are backed up by Pitchfork, who write “No doubt these songs will go down a storm in a live setting. But, given the caliber of players Yorke has on hand this time around, it's disappointing that we still have to make that assumption.” Among the chances that Atoms For Peace have to convince live include Melt Festival in Germany, where they’ve recently been confirmed as headliners for the weekend of July 19-21^st.

Continue reading: Atoms For Peace Release AMOK Today; But How Do Thom Yorke & Co. Fare With The Critics?