Long before it was en vogue, Talking Heads bandleader David Byrne removed most of his back catalogue from Spotify in 2013 after penning an op-ed slamming music streaming services.
Now, the musician has given us an update on his views in a new interview with The Guardian — the same publication through which he shared that original essay.
When interviewer Brodie Lancaster asked about the artist's views on the platform have changed in the last nine years, especially in light of the recent exodus from it — and outcry against Spotify-exclusive podcast talking (nonsense) head Joe Rogan — led by Neil Young, Byrne noted that a select handful of "mega, mega artists" are doing really well, but "many of the others — especially emerging artists — are having a tough time with it."
"There was definitely a period where I thought, 'Oh, this is going to be tough for a lot of artists,' especially with Spotify's 'freemium' layer," he said, and that period clearly hasn't ended.
The multi-hyphenate Mitski-collaborator (it warrants its own hyphen, okay?) added: "I watched as Taylor Swift went to Apple and said, 'You can't do this; you can't have a freemium layer that will last forever,'" citing Swift's 2015 open letter to Apple Music. "And she — I mean, bless her heart — she managed to get them to [change their policy]. Which I think was brave for her and good for a lot of the rest of us."
Lancaster commented on Swift having a "powerful bargaining chip," and the musician agreed: "Yes, she does. We don't all have that!"
Byrne continued:
And now there's been all these things about platforms having … let's say questionable or controversial content [and] putting out misinformation or outright lies or … not exactly hate speech, but things that are making a lot of artists uncomfortable. And it's pretty tough to do anything to help ameliorate that unless you're a Drake or Taylor Swift, or those kinds of artists. It's pretty hard for the rest of us to have influence.
With a still-blooming career at age 69, it's difficult to think that an artist like him wouldn't feel like he was an influential force, but he points to a prevalent response to the boycott from smaller artists that still can't afford to sacrifice Spotify's measly estimated $0.004 payout per stream. Young and bandwagoners like Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Graham Nash and Steven Stills are the type of storied-career musicians we'd all imagine as being set for life.
Byrne recently contributed to a Yoko Ono tribute album and generously shared his crying playlist. Meanwhile, Arcade Fire's Will Butler is among the latest to publish an essay railing against streaming services.
Now, the musician has given us an update on his views in a new interview with The Guardian — the same publication through which he shared that original essay.
When interviewer Brodie Lancaster asked about the artist's views on the platform have changed in the last nine years, especially in light of the recent exodus from it — and outcry against Spotify-exclusive podcast talking (nonsense) head Joe Rogan — led by Neil Young, Byrne noted that a select handful of "mega, mega artists" are doing really well, but "many of the others — especially emerging artists — are having a tough time with it."
"There was definitely a period where I thought, 'Oh, this is going to be tough for a lot of artists,' especially with Spotify's 'freemium' layer," he said, and that period clearly hasn't ended.
The multi-hyphenate Mitski-collaborator (it warrants its own hyphen, okay?) added: "I watched as Taylor Swift went to Apple and said, 'You can't do this; you can't have a freemium layer that will last forever,'" citing Swift's 2015 open letter to Apple Music. "And she — I mean, bless her heart — she managed to get them to [change their policy]. Which I think was brave for her and good for a lot of the rest of us."
Lancaster commented on Swift having a "powerful bargaining chip," and the musician agreed: "Yes, she does. We don't all have that!"
Byrne continued:
And now there's been all these things about platforms having … let's say questionable or controversial content [and] putting out misinformation or outright lies or … not exactly hate speech, but things that are making a lot of artists uncomfortable. And it's pretty tough to do anything to help ameliorate that unless you're a Drake or Taylor Swift, or those kinds of artists. It's pretty hard for the rest of us to have influence.
With a still-blooming career at age 69, it's difficult to think that an artist like him wouldn't feel like he was an influential force, but he points to a prevalent response to the boycott from smaller artists that still can't afford to sacrifice Spotify's measly estimated $0.004 payout per stream. Young and bandwagoners like Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Graham Nash and Steven Stills are the type of storied-career musicians we'd all imagine as being set for life.
Byrne recently contributed to a Yoko Ono tribute album and generously shared his crying playlist. Meanwhile, Arcade Fire's Will Butler is among the latest to publish an essay railing against streaming services.
