Thom Yorke, the frontman behind acclaimed rock-band Radiohead, has slammed Google and Youtube for the way they compensate artists and creators that post content on their sites, likening the practice to the Nazi regimes' systematic plunder of art during World War II.
In an interview with Italian magazine La Republicca, the multi-Grammy award winner discussed the ethics of ad blockers and the difficulties of being a musician in the digital age.
"A friend of mine told me about this app to skip commercials on YouTube... They put advertising before any content, making a lot of money and yet, artists are not paid or are paid small sums, and apparently this is fine for them." said Yorke.
"They make money from the work of artists who do not get any benefit," he continued. "Service providers make money: Google, YouTube. A lot of money. 'Oh, sorry, was it yours? Now it's ours. No, no, we are joking, it is always yours.' They seize it. It's like what the Nazis did during the Second World War. Actually, they all did that during the war, the British, too-steal the art from other countries. What's the difference?"
This isn't the first time Yorke has fired shots at the modern music industry's practices. In 2013, he called streaming service Spotify, "the last desperate fart of a dying corpse" during an interview with Mexican site Sopitas.
"I feel like as musicians we need to fight the Spotify thing. I feel that in some ways what's happening in the mainstream is the last gasp of the old industry. Once that does finally die, which it will, something else will happen," said Yorke back then.
Yorke and his bandmates have long been champions of alternative distribution methods. Their 2007 album In Rainbows, made use of a unique purchase model that allowed customers to pay whatever amount they wanted.
