Sixx AM have called on YouTube to pay artists a fair share of streaming revenue, saying: “Don’t be evil, YouTube.”
Nikki Sixx, DJ Ashba and James Michael say YouTube pay artists about one sixth of what rival Spotify and Apple do, adding that Google-owned YouTube’s founders are worth a combined $75billion.
Sixx AM – who issue their second album Prayer For The Damned on April 29 – say: “We are a lucky band, grateful to have all had success prior to the creation of Sixx AM.
“We have always been vocal about artists’ rights. We stood with Taylor Swift when she spoke up about the absence of royalty payments to artists by Apple Music.
“We chose today to speak up about how YouTube unfairly pays artists and labels an estimated 1⁄6 of what it’s competitors Spotify and Apple pay and why this must be addressed.
“We have deep respect for Google’s spirit of innovation and YouTube’s contribution to the field of technology and entertainment, in fact the data we are citing comes from Google itself, but the facts don’t lie. Our large community of hardworking artists is being exploited to make a very small percentage of people extremely rich.”
They continue: “This is an important issue to us. We are the lucky ones, like so many veteran artists, who came up in an era where there was much more income from record sales.
“Today, streaming is a fraction of income from that time. This is not about us. We are speaking up for the current and future generation of musicians who must be compensated fairly for their hard work.
“We would not have had Prince, Blondie, Bruce Springsteen, Ice Cube, Taylor Swift, or many other artists without a system to support and nurture them.
“We support technology and its ability to bring music to more people around the globe. All we ask, is for all artists to receive fair pay.
“When Google first started, its corporate motto was ‘Don’t Be Evil.’ That motto has since changed to ‘Do The Right Thing.’ It’s time to live up to your corporate mottos, Google and YouTube, and invest in the future of music.”
Recently, Metallica manager Peter Mensch described YouTube as “the devil” while Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke compared the streaming service to Nazis because they “steal” art.
Sixx AM hit the road later this month in support of Prayer For The Damned.
Sixx AM Prayer For The Damned tracklist
- Rise
- You Have Come To The Right place
- I’m Sick
- Prayers For The Damned
- Better Man
- Can’t Stop
- When We Were Gods
- Belly Of The Beast
- Everything Went To Hell
- The Last Time (My Heart Will Hit The Ground)
- Rise of the Melancholy Empire
Sixx AM 2016 tour dates
Apr 30: Jacksonville Welcome To Rockville, FL
May 01: Fort Myers Fort Rock Festival, FL
May 03: Nashville Cannery Ballroom, TN
May 04: Birmingham Oak Mountain Amphitheater, AL
May 06: Charlotte Carolina Rebellion, NC
May 07: Richmond The National, VA
May 08: Bethlehem Sands Event Center, PA
May 10: Baltimore Rams Head Live, MD
May 11: Norfolk The Norva, VA
May 13: Ft Wayne Piere’s Entertainment Center, IN
May 14: Kansas City KQRC Rockfest, MO
May 15: Somerset Northern Invasion, WI
May 17: Chicago Concord Music Hall, IL
May 18: Pittsburgh Stage AE, PA
May 20: Columbus Rock On The Range, OH
May 21: Camden Susquehanna Bank Center, NJ
May 22: Albany Rock En Derby, NY
May 24: Sayreville Starland Ballroom, NJ
May 27: Pryor Rocklahoma, OK
May 29: San Antonio River City Rockfest, TX
Jun 02: Monza Gods Of Metal, Italy
Jun 03: Nuremberg Rock Im Park, Germany
Jun 05: Mendig Rock Am Ring, Germany
Jun 07: Lodz The Power Festival, Poland
Jun 09: Solvesborg Sweden Rock Festival, Sweden
Jun 11: Download Festival, UK
Jun 12: Isle of Wright Festival, UK
Jun 16: Pratteln Konzertfabrik Z7, Switzerland
Jun 17: Graspop Festival, Belgium
Jun 18: Hellfest, France
Jun 19: Grasspop Festival, Belgium
Jun 22: Stockholm Grona Lund, Sweden
Jun 23: Copenhagen Copenhell, Denmark
Jun 24: Halden Tons of Rock, Norway
Jul 30: Alberta Sturgis Alberta Motorcycle Rally, CA
