Spotify hits back at Thom Yorke royalties criticism
Spotify has rebuffed a series of allegations against it tweeted by former Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and his producer Nigel Godrich, after they abruptly dropped support for the service over disappointment at the amount of royalties they were receiving.
Yorke alleged that money owed to new artists was being diverted to the pockets of shareholders with artists earning just 0.5 to 0.7 cents per stream from paying customers… and as little as 0.05 cents for free users.
Commenting on these figures via his Twitter account Godrich complained; “…new artists get paid fuck all with this model. It's an equation that just doesn't work.”
In a statement issued to Mashable however Spotify countered: “We've already paid US$500M to rightsholders so far and by the end of 2013 this number will reach US$1bn. Much of this money is being invested in nurturing new talent and producing great new music.
“We're 100% committed to making Spotify the most artist-friendly music service possible and are constantly talking to artists and managers about how Spotify can help build their careers.”