The Canadian singer-songwriter legend Neil Young, 69, doesn’t want to have anything to do with streaming his music anymore. Young, a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, wrote on his Facebook page that it isn’t about the money, but rather about streaming quality.
“Streaming has ended for me,” he began the Facebook note, which garnered nearly 3,000 likes after an hour on Wednesday. “I hope this is ok for my fans.”
“It’s not because of the money, although my share (like all the other artists) was dramatically reduced by bad deals made without my consent,” Young continued. “It’s about sound quality. I don’t need my music to be devalued by the worst quality in the history of broadcasting or any other form of distribution. I don’t feel right allowing this to be sold to my fans. It’s bad for my music.”
But Young did leave the door open for having his music streamed online once again in the future. “When the quality is back, I’ll give it another look. Never say never,” he wrote.
The move comes after Taylor Swift made waves in the industry by taking some of her albums off of popular streaming platforms and also demanding more pay for artists.
On a related note, the much-hyped Apple Music was confirmed to be of less quality than some of its competition in June. Music streams on the service at about 256kpbs, which is less than the 320kpbs of its competitiors.