Slipknot’s Corey Taylor on why Tool waited so long to stream their back catalogue

The frontman has highlighted the issues with services such as Spotify

Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor has said that streaming services’ treatment of artists is the reason Tool waited so long to share their back catalogue online.

The Maynard James Keenan band, who recently returned with their first music in 13 years, made their previous albums available for fans to stream via Spotify, Apple Music, and more sites earlier this month. Just days after the digital release, the group’s third record – 2001’s ‘Lateralus’ – went to the top of the iTunes albums chart, with a number of their singles also securing high positions.

In a recent interview, the Slipknot frontman has cited the major platforms’ approach to paying artists fairly as an explanation for Tool’s previous online absence.

Advertisement

“We don’t have a problem with streaming,” the singer told Rock Feed of his own band’s stance. “We don’t have a problem with people listening to our music. What we have a problem with is these streaming services basically treating it like we owe them.”

Corey Taylor of Slipknot
Corey Taylor of Slipknot. Credit: Getty

Pressed on what can be done for acts to gain a bigger payout from streams, he replied: “They can start by all of them banding together and pushing the streaming services to stop appealing the legislation that’s already been put in place to pay us better, you know?

“There’s a reason that Tool waited as long as they did to put the stuff up on streaming services. Because they knew they weren’t gonna be compensated for something that they worked their asses off for.”

Taylor added: “To me, it smells of two things with Tool. A, it’s perfect timing because they have a new album coming out; and B, they probably worked out a deal with their label to make sure that they got a piece of the money that the label’s automatically going to get because of the money that’s being generated from streaming.”

Advertisement

Explaining the difference between payment from a stream and a radio play, the musician said: “With streaming, there really is no publishing that is promised. That money goes directly to … the label. So the label is making huge amounts of money. And they are not contractually bound to pay us for that.”

Meanwhile, Slipknot have scored their first UK Number One album in 18 years with their new LP ‘We Are Not Your Kind‘. Following its release, the group’s Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan spoke of his desire for the band to perform smaller shows in the future.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories