Thom Yorke uses the Ivors stage to warn about music’s economic future

Thom Yorke’s Ivor Novello moment remains a strong 25 May industry and alternative-music item. Yorke was honored at the Ivors, with Harry Styles presenting the award, but the most important part of the story was not celebrity adjacency. Yorke used the platform to criticize the economics around streaming, major-label consolidation and the way future musicians are being devalued before they have a chance to build sustainable careers. That message lands especially hard in an indie digest because independent music depends on the possibility that artists can survive long enough to become good.

If streaming pays poorly, venues close, rents rise and production costs keep climbing, then the next wave of strange, difficult or regional artists may never get past the first few songs. The Ivors also gave attention to several current names relevant to indie and alternative audiences: CMAT’s Euro-Country won Best Album, Kae Tempest and Fraser T Smith won Best Contemporary Song, Jacob Alon won Best Song Musically and Lyrically, Lola Young’s Messy won Most Performed Work, and Sam Fender was named Songwriter of the Year. For 25 May, this story belongs because it connects celebration with warning. Awards are nice. A functioning future for songwriters is better. Source: https://stereogum.com/2499799/harry-styles-honors-thom-yorke-at-ivors-reveals-which-radiohead-song-he-lost-his-virginity-to/news