Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has responded to a report that his band demanded an exorbitant advance from EMI for its next album as well as control of its back catalog, before ultimately deciding not to re-sign with the company.
The Times of London reported Friday that Radiohead rejected a £3 million advance for the new "In Rainbows," and refused to back down from its wish to acquire the copyrights to some of its master recordings.
An EMI spokesperson told the paper that such a move would have resulted in a £4 million loss for the company, which is now owned by Guy Hands' private equity firm Terra Firma. "Radiohead were demanding an extraordinary amount of money and we did not believe that our other artists should have to subsidize their gains," the spokesperson said.
But Yorke paints the situation in a different light, insisting, "We did not ask for a load of cash from ... EMI to re-sign. That is a lie."
"What we wanted was some control over our work and how it was used in the future by them. That seemed reasonable to us, and we cared about it a great deal," he continued. "Mr. Hands was not interested. So, neither were we."
Yorke saved some pointed words for both Hands and the Times. "To be digging up such bullsh*t, or more politely airing [your] dirty laundry in public, seems a very strange way for the head of an international record label to be proceeding," he said.
"In Rainbows" was released on CD today (Dec. 31) in the United Kingdom via XL and will arrive tomorrow in the United States via TBD/ATO.
The Times of London reported Friday that Radiohead rejected a £3 million advance for the new "In Rainbows," and refused to back down from its wish to acquire the copyrights to some of its master recordings.
An EMI spokesperson told the paper that such a move would have resulted in a £4 million loss for the company, which is now owned by Guy Hands' private equity firm Terra Firma. "Radiohead were demanding an extraordinary amount of money and we did not believe that our other artists should have to subsidize their gains," the spokesperson said.
But Yorke paints the situation in a different light, insisting, "We did not ask for a load of cash from ... EMI to re-sign. That is a lie."
"What we wanted was some control over our work and how it was used in the future by them. That seemed reasonable to us, and we cared about it a great deal," he continued. "Mr. Hands was not interested. So, neither were we."
Yorke saved some pointed words for both Hands and the Times. "To be digging up such bullsh*t, or more politely airing [your] dirty laundry in public, seems a very strange way for the head of an international record label to be proceeding," he said.
"In Rainbows" was released on CD today (Dec. 31) in the United Kingdom via XL and will arrive tomorrow in the United States via TBD/ATO.
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