Jay Z and Taylor Swift aren't alone in pulling their music from Spotify over licensing rights and artist payout... 1970s disco group The Village People are also interested in taking their music down from the streaming service. After the launch of Jay Z's service TIDAL made waves last month, earlier this week, Village People singer Victor Willis admitted that he was wanting to pull his hits "Y.M.C.A.," "Macho Man" and "In The Navy" from the site.
In speaking to radio station WENN (via Contact Music), Willis stated the same reasons for pulling his catalogue as other musicians: it's all about royalties.
"The business model for these streaming services is bad for artists but good for the music streaming companies' bottom line," he said. "Why should I continue to license 'Y.M.C.A.' to them for the micro-royalties they pay? I'd rather withhold all of my music until they figure out how to make it worth my while."
Willis is, however, willing to bring his music over to TIDAL, which launched on March 30 with the help of Jack White, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Daft Punk and more. According to majority stakeholder Jay Z, TIDAL pays the highest percentage of royalties to artists, though he has yet to specify how they bypass record labels and what exact amount they pay.
As of press time, the Village People's music remains on Spotify, with "Y.M.C.A." notching over 10 million total streams between its single version and original version.
So, enjoy the disco goodness for your #throwbackthursday parties while you can...
