A number of artists have criticized Spotify in recent years, but Thom Yorke’s comments about the platform may be the most memorable. Speaking with The Guardian in 2013, the Radiohead frontman famously declared the streaming service “the last desperate fart of a dying corpse.”
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On Wednesday (June 8), however, Spotify confirmed to Billboard that Radiohead’s latest album, A Moon Shaped Pool, will be available June 17 on the streaming service. The news first surfaced via the band’s Spotify artist page, which has a message that reads: “Radiohead’s latest album ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ will be available here from 17th June. Come back then to listen.”
Radiohead has employed many unique tactics in releasing music to fans, like their “pay what you want” model for In Rainbows in 2007, but Yorke was firmly against the leading streaming platform in that 2013 interview. “When we did the In Rainbows thing, what was most exciting was the idea you could have a direct connection between you as a musician and your audience,” Yorke told The Guardian at the time. “You cut all of it out; it’s just that and that. And then all these f—ers get in a way, like Spotify suddenly trying to become the gatekeepers to the whole process. We don’t need you to do it… We can build the sh– ourselves, so f— off.”
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Yorke has been more comfortable with other gatekeepers: When A Moon Shaped Pool arrived in May, it was available on both Tidal and Apple Music. (Neither have a tier for free users like Spotify does.)
The album’s first two singles, “Burn the Witch” and “Daydreaming,” are available on Spotify now.