Corey Taylor Says Streaming Services Are Pricing Artists Out Of Careers

Corey Taylor has spoken out about the negative effects of streaming on bands, and how it's "pricing artists – old and new – out of careers".

Initially provoking Corey's comments, member of Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band Nils Lofgren posted a photo on Twitter over the weekend of one of his royalty cheques for the amount of $7.91, going on to state that, "We simply don't get paid for our work." In a reply to his tweets, a report was posted explaining that artists will earn $0.01682 per play on Pandora or $0.00437 per play on Spotify, meaning that someone will need to reach around 336,842 total plays per month to earn the U.S. monthly minimum wage of $1,472 (Apple Music and Google Play Music pay $0.00735 and $0.00676 respectively).

The Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman then weighed in on the matter, posting, "No-one points this out. And while Congress has passed legislation to right this wrong, almost all the streaming services are APPEALING, which means we STILL don’t get paid for our work. But please people, by all means – stream away…"

He then went on to emphasise that the only way bands and artists really make money these days is through playing shows: "We HAVE to tour. It’s the only way we can make a living. Merch helps, but the merch companies make the lion’s share. Streaming is pricing artists – old AND new – out of careers."

When asked about if this was a genre-specific problem, Corey responded: "All due respect, I simply do not believe the ‘rock and metal isn’t popular’ idea. Our shows are sold out, our numbers are just as high as anyone else’s and we’ve been #1 every time. This isn’t about popularity, because it happens in EVERY GENRE."

Read Corey's thoughts in full below:

Slipknot recently confirmed a 2020 European tour, revealing the cities they'd be hitting along with a ticket collaboration for their new album We Are Not Your Kind: if you pre-order the record before 11:30pm UK time on August 8 – and based off of Corey's tweets here, you definitely should – you’ll get an exclusive pre-sale code granting early access to tickets. Get on that right here.

In the meantime, Slipknot live at the following dates this year.

August

6 Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
8 Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
10 Des Moines, IA @ Iowa State Fairgrounds
11 Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
12 Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
14 Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
16 Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
17 Bonner Springs, KS @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
18 Maryland Heights, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
20 Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
21 Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
23 Burgettstown, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion
24 Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
25 Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
27 Mansfield, MA @ The Xfinity Center
28 Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
30 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
31 Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion

September

1 Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
3 Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
4 Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
6 Austin, TX @ Austin 360 Amphitheater
7 Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
8 The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

And see them supporting Metallica at the following, before their two Knotfest shows at the end of the year:

October

17 Perth, AUS @ Optus Stadium
20 Adelaide, AUS @ Adelaide Oval
22 Melbourne, AUS @ Marvel Stadium
24 Melbourne, AUS @ Marvel Stadium
26 Sydney, AUS @ ANZ Stadium
29 Brisbane, AUS @ QSAC
31 Auckland, NZ @ Mt. Smart Stadium

November

2 Auckland, NZ @ Mt. Smart Stadium
30 Mexico City, Parque Deportivo Oceanía @ Knotfest

December

6 Bogota, Colombia @ Knotfest

Read this next:

• Freaks unleashed: The story behind Slipknot's debut album
• How Slipknot changed my life
• Here's where every sample on Slipknot's debut album came from