The Black Keys, who have just released their latest studio LP El Camino to almost universally positive feedback from fans and critics alike, have taken the unusual but not unprecedented step to not allow the album to be streamed from all popular streaming services such as Pandora, Last.fm, Spotify, Rdio, and a host of others.
The move isn’t the first time an artist has decided against streaming, and big name acts are beginning to shun streaming services in higher numbers. Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto was also not made available to stream, and fans looking for Adele’s 19 were also left disappointed.
Preventing streaming is seen as a way of rewarding the fans who actually still went out and paid for the record. In an interview with VH1, Patrick Carney of The Black Keys explained why the band took the step saying “It’s becoming more popular, but it still isn’t at a point where you’re able to replace royalties from record sales with royalties from streams…”
He continued “I think for unknown bands and smaller bands, it’s a really good thing to kind of get yourself out there… for a band that makes a living selling music, it’s not at a point to be feasible for us.”
Streaming services have come under increasing fire from labels and musicians over the last year who claim that the royalties they pay, a fraction of a cent per stream, don’t properly compensate the artists. Spotify, as the market leader, has been unwilling to increase their royalty payments as even under the current model they continue to bleed money reporting yet another loss this financial year.
You can watch the interview with The Black Keys below.
