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This is only for Thom Yorke solo tunes, Atoms for Peace music from Thom and Nigel, and Nigel's side project Ultraista. The two make the argument that new music

This is only for Thom Yorke solo tunes, Atoms for Peace music from Thom and Nigel, and Nigel's side project Ultraista. The two make the argument that new music is hurt in the Spotify revenue equation. With the large stake of Spotify that is owned by the Majors and other large corporate entities such as Coca-Cola, it would be interesting if the 'independent labels' were to come out with some sort of streaming service of their own, whether it be on a label by label basis or on a combined level. Anyways, let's see what happens with this in the news cycle. Edit: Found an interesting Thom Yorke quote on his feelings about digital content: Radiohead have often riffed on the edge of that thoroughly modern disjunction. From their landmark album OK Computer on, the band seemed like evangelists for the revolutionary possibilities of a digital world, self-releasing 2007's In Rainbows on a pay-what-you-want download. Yorke is a bit more sceptical about all that now. In the days before we meet, he has been watching a box set of Adam Curtis's BBC series, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, about the implications of our digitised future, so the arguments are fresh in his head. "We were so into the net around the time of Kid A," he says. "Really thought it might be an amazing way of connecting and communicating. And then very quickly we started having meetings where people started talking about what we did as 'content'. They would show us letters from big media companies offering us millions in some mobile phone deal or whatever it was, and they would say all they need is some content. I was like, what is this 'content' which you describe? Just a filling of time and space with stuff, emotion, so you can sell it?" Having thought they were subverting the corporate music industry with In Rainbows, he now fears they were inadvertently playing into the hands of Apple and Google and the rest. "They have to keep commodifying things to keep the share price up, but in doing so they have made all content, including music and newspapers, worthless, in order to make their billions. And this is what we want? I still think it will be undermined in some way. It doesn't make sense to me. Anyway, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace. The commodification of human relationships through social networks. Amazing!"[1] [1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/feb/23/thom-yorke-radiohead-interview http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/feb/23/thom-yorke-radio...

anigbrowl 13y ago
This is only for Thom Yorke solo tunes, Atoms for Peace music from Thom and Nigel, and Nigel's side project Ultraista. The two make the argument that new music is hurt in the Spotify revenue equation. Dear Thom, I wish you had thought about this after you got very rich but before you decided that that made it a good idea of give away music for free. When lack of access to a reliable revenue model makes it difficult for build an audience for your own projects, the problem is primarily one of low return on your artistic endeavor. But for those who don't happen to be associated with an existing success such as Radiohead, that low return often means no prospect of making money at all. Whereas you can have the guitar amp of your choice or feel sure of an audience when you announce a gig, the lack of a revenue model for new music means many will never taste the leverage that you enjoy, with corresponding limitations on their musical development. This isn't all your fault, of course. But it might be good if you could devote some of your energy to finding a model that works for people without name recognition, eg by relying on your great musical talent but operating under a pseudonym while you search for new ways to sell it.
- clicks 13y ago
  Did you read the article? Thom and Nigel seem to be lamenting new bands' inability to bring in money, they're not grieving about how they themselves don't make enough through Spotify.
duaneb 13y ago
> They have to keep commodifying things to keep the share price up, but in doing so they have made all content, including music and newspapers, worthless, in order to make their billions. This strikes me as typical Luddite hysteria. Of course they still have worth, the commodified version is the same as the original, and people are getting the same thing they got when buying a cd. The barrier is just drastically lowered. I do agree on the commodification of human relationships, it's a fairly disgusting trend that I hope exhausts itself in the current social network form soon.

anigbrowl 13y ago

This is only for Thom Yorke solo tunes, Atoms for Peace music from Thom and Nigel, and Nigel's side project Ultraista. The two make the argument that new music is hurt in the Spotify revenue equation. Dear Thom, I wish you had thought about this after you got very rich but before you decided that that made it a good idea of give away music for free. When lack of access to a reliable revenue model makes it difficult for build an audience for your own projects, the problem is primarily one of low return on your artistic endeavor. But for those who don't happen to be associated with an existing success such as Radiohead, that low return often means no prospect of making money at all. Whereas you can have the guitar amp of your choice or feel sure of an audience when you announce a gig, the lack of a revenue model for new music means many will never taste the leverage that you enjoy, with corresponding limitations on their musical development. This isn't all your fault, of course. But it might be good if you could devote some of your energy to finding a model that works for people without name recognition, eg by relying on your great musical talent but operating under a pseudonym while you search for new ways to sell it.

clicks 13y ago
Did you read the article? Thom and Nigel seem to be lamenting new bands' inability to bring in money, they're not grieving about how they themselves don't make enough through Spotify.

duaneb 13y ago

> They have to keep commodifying things to keep the share price up, but in doing so they have made all content, including music and newspapers, worthless, in order to make their billions. This strikes me as typical Luddite hysteria. Of course they still have worth, the commodified version is the same as the original, and people are getting the same thing they got when buying a cd. The barrier is just drastically lowered. I do agree on the commodification of human relationships, it's a fairly disgusting trend that I hope exhausts itself in the current social network form soon.