For Bjork, “Spotify is probably the worst thing that ever happened to musicians”

The Icelandic singer lashed out against the Swedish streaming giant, which she accuses of having “changed a whole generation of artists”.

Björk, like many musicians, has criticisms of the streaming model. During an interview with the Swedish magazine Dagens Nyheter, as part of the promotion of his concert Cornucopia broadcast on Apple TV+, the singer attacked Spotify and did not mince her words:

“Spotify is probably the worst thing that’s ever happened to musicians,” she said, as relayed by NME.

“The culture of streaming has changed an entire society, as well as an entire generation of artists,” continued the 59-year-old superstar.

The interpreter of Yoga mentioned in the interview his project to put the production of new music before stage performances. “The live part is an important part of what I do, and it always will be. But I'm lucky, because I don't need to make money from touring anymore, which younger musicians do. are often obliged to do.”

Model criticized

As Variety points out, the economy of streaming is debated in the music industry: many artists deplore the paltry income that the platforms offer them, which forces them to go on tours, sell derivative products or multiply partnerships with brands to generate money. And as the specialist site notes, the touring economy has not always proven to be successful in recent years, with tickets sold cheaper than expected – causing, in fact, a shortfall.

This is not the first time that Björk has attacked Spotify. In 2015, she announced her decision not to release her album Vulnicura on the platform, as already reported by NME. “It just seems absurd to me,” she said. “Working on something for two to three years and finally saying, 'Here's the result, and it's free.' It's not about money; it's about respect. Respect for the craftsmanship and for the workload deployed.”