Anton Newcombe, frontman of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, has claimed that Apple threatened to remove the band’s music from iTunes if Newcombe did not comply with their three month royalty-free policy.
Apple’s new streaming service Apple Music is set to offer the service to users free for three months, however, it is believed that during this period artists on indie labels will earn no money if their songs are streamed.
Newcombe took to Twitter to explain the situation, calling the company “Devils”.
“They said we want to stream your music free for 3 months..I said what if I say no, and they said “we’ll take your music off itunes. hard ball? fuck these satanic corporations,” he wrote.
“They shouldn’t threaten people to work for free.its [sic] not ok for these fucking idiots to decide art has no value,” he continued.
It’s a sentiment that many are echoing in wake of the news of the three-month royalty-free period, with independent labels in particular worried about the implications of the move.
Yesterday, the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) criticised Apple for expecting indie labels to “shoulder the financial burden” of the trial period and said they could not endorse Apple Music’s proposed agreement.
British record company The Beggars Group, which looks after the likes Vampire Weekend and Bon Iver, have also released a statement expressing their concerns about the free aspect of Apple Music.
“Given the natural response of competing digital services to offer comparable terms, we fear that the free trial aspect, far from moving the industry away from freemium services — a model we support — is only resulting in taking the “mium” out of freemium,” a statement on the label’s website read.
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon also recently spoke-out against Apple. He retweeted a FACT article titled “Indie labels advised against signing with Apple Music amid fears of revenue ‘black hole'” and then went on to screenshot another FACT article “Is Apple Music proof that the company has stopped innovating?” and wrote, “don’t need to read this. its true.”
Read Anton Newcombe’s tweets below.
UPDATE 22/06/15: Apple has agreed to pay royalties during Apple Music’s three-month free trial period, with an Apple executive directly addressing Taylor Swift and other artists who disagreed with its original plans.
Watch: The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Let’s Go Fucking Mental
So @APPLEOFFIClAL has a new deal they offered me: they said we want to stream your music free for 3 months..I said what if I say no,and they
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
(@APPLEOFFIClAL ) said "we'll take your music off itunes. hard ball? fuck these satanic corporations
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
True story – did you get that @johnrobb77 @theQuietus @Contactmusic @NME @brooklynvegan it's sort of a big story I have not heard publicly
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
Fucking @iTunes
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
It actually doesn't matter if that account was click bait because the fact remains that a corporation is basically making threats
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
The biggest company on earth wants to use my work to make money for 3 months and pay me nothing – of I say no,I'm banned
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
Wow,at least apple pays Chinese workers one dollar a day to make iPhones etc
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
My guess is that they will come out of the gate with shit streaming for free or low cost then blow everyone away with higher quality streams
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
Devils – they shouldn't threaten people to work for free.its not ok for these fucking idiots to decide art has no value
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
I hope the poor decide that law has no value and burn the Bay Area to the fucking ground starting in Cupertino
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
After looting all the techies McMansions
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
Give San Francisco back to the Gays and the Indians
— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) June 17, 2015
