Radiohead Takes A Stand Against Streaming & Pulls Music From Spotify

It looks like we're going to have to go somewhere other than Spotify to curb our futuristic melancholy and slightly neurotic musical appetite. Radiohead has pulled its self-released stunner of an album In Rainbows as well as Thom Yorke's Atoms for Peace project and his solo-LP The Eraser from the steaming service. It's something we're going to call, "Occupy Spotify."

Yorke also extended the protest to another streaming site, Rdio. Producer Nigel Godrich took to Twitter and used slightly more colorful language to get his point across. The group believes the equality of artist profits and Spotify profits is out of whack, and stripping the service of their music is their way of keeping the money out of shareholders' pockets. It's an act both Yorke and Godrich hope will inspire others to join as their message spreads.

The valour of Yorke's decision is admirable, but how effective will it be? There's still the issue of torrenting and YouTube-to-mp3 sites; stripping the Internet of Radiohead's music completely would be nearly impossible (and a poor business move). If enough artists follow suit, Spotify will have to rethink their strategy, but for now all the company has to say is: "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,” as a rep wrote to Variety. Let's hope, because our rainy-day playlists have some serious holes in them now that In Rainbows and The Eraser are gone. (Variety)