Frontman of Disturbed, David Draiman, weighs in on Thom Yorke/Spotify royalties argument
Disturbed frontman David Draiman has accused Nigel Godrich and Thom Yorke of “cutting off your nose to spite your face” over their decision to quit Spotify in a bitter row over royalties.
Responding to the Radiohead lead singers claim that “new artists get paid fuck all” by the music streaming service, Draiman said in an open letter posted online: “The days of the hard copy product have been over for quite some time. All artists these days are dealing with a frustrating situation when it comes to generating revenue and awareness of our projects, whether they be new ones or established ones.
“Make no mistake that the reason for the current state of reduced revenues for new artists is piracy, and NOT Spotify.”
Yorke’s decision to quit Spotify was backed by producer Nigel Godrich who tweeted: “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.”
Draiman’s response claimed: “Spotify is simply an alternate form of potential revenue stream much in the same way publishing royalties can be. It was never meant to be a replacement for the old retail infrastructure, it was meant to make Piracy obsolete by providing an amazing online service, at a reasonable cost to the user/music fan.”
Adding that if Yorke and Godrich want to take issue with someone they should “make issue with the license holders of your songs and the rate you've contractually negotiated with them, not Spotify,” and that Spotify can in fact “bring your music to the ears of millions of new potential fans that just random placement on some bittorent site would never do.”
The heavymetal singer/songwriter goes on to tell Yorke that “You can’t fight the future or the advancement of technology, it is pointless. There are those who have tried to cling to an antiquated retail infrastructure, that have quickly become extinct before they ever even had the chance to thrive. Do not try to coerce a new generation of fledgling artists into a stance which would be incredibly counter-productive for them, and their development of their respective brands/music.”
He concludes writing: “Spotify has given us a platform to finally combat piracy on a real level, created an entirely new and separate revenue stream, and brings us closer to the potential fans out there that are truly thirsting for what we have created in an efficient and economic manner.
“Would you rather the world simply steal your music?”