Radiohead manager backs Spotify following Thom Yorke's criticism of the company

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While both Thom Yorke and long-time collaborator Nigel Godrich have come out in disagreement of the way music-streaming service Spotify treats artists, Radiohead’s own co-manager Brian Message has now spoken in favour of the company and their potential to help musicians.

Speaking to the BBC last night, Message said that he saw Spotify “as a good thing”, adding that “streaming services are a new way for artists and fans to engage.

The disagreement started when Godrich pulled Atoms For Peace’s recent album Amok from the platform, as well as Yorke’s The Eraser solo record. He took to Twitter to say that Spotify only makes money for shareholders, not rightsholders.

Message went on to tell the Beeb: “As a manager of Thom I obviously sit up and take note when he says, ‘Listen guys we need to look at how this works.’ It’s a healthy debate that’s going on right now. He’s rightly asking the question of, ‘What’s in this for new music and new artists?’ I think we’re all debating this. as the model gets bigger I think we’ll find a place where artists and managers and all creators can all receive what they regard as equitable remuneration. “It’s not black and white, it’s a complicated area. There’s been over 20 attempted reviews of Copyright and how it operates in the internet era, and there’s been no satisfactory solution to it. The bottom line is, technology is here to stay, and evolution of technology is always going to go on. It’s up to me as a manager to work with the likes of Spotify and other streaming services to best facilitate how we monetise those for the artists we represent. It’s not easy but it’s great to have the dialogue.”

You can listen to the complete interview streaming below: