I copied this from his Facebook page:
Streaming has ended for me. I hope this is ok for my fans.
It’s not because of the money, although my share (like all the other artists) was dramatically reduced by bad deals made without my consent.
It’s about sound quality. I don’t need my music to be devalued by the worst quality in the history of broadcasting or any other form of distribution. I don’t feel right allowing this to be sold to my fans. It’s bad for my music.
For me, It’s about making and distributing music people can really hear and feel. I stand for that.
When the quality is back, I’ll give it another look. Never say never.
Neil Young.
Dear Neil: You are full of it. It is about the money. You know why I know?
You never bitched about sound quality when your music was selling in 8 Track or cassette.
That is unless you think tape hiss was something that actually improved your music.
And maybe it did.
Isn’t he one of the guys pushing for an HD mp3 format?
Young is just being hyperbolic in order to sell his (overrated) Pono player.
BTW, there already is a “high-resolution” format that kicks the crap out of everything else: It’s called DSD, Direct Stream Digital. It’s the closest thing to analog in the digital domain.
You mean this Pono player?
That’s dumb.
Also, I thought FLAC was the king of quality audio formats. Personally, I’m an Ogg Vorbis fan.
FLAC is a lossless PCM format, capable of being encoded in high bit-rates and sampling rates. DSD is something else altogether. Short of playback on a 30ips reel of a first gen master, it is the best format available today.
I like Neil, he is a tech guy. At the time 8 track and cassette were the best bang for the buck in many situations, like in cars. And so what if he holds back his talent for more money. But…… A southern man don’t need him around anyhow.
Agreed. At the time, if you wanted your own portable tunes, 8 tracks and cassettes were the cutting edge – neither the consumer nor the artist had a choice at the time. Today there is choice. If an artist wants to distribute his art only via state-of-the-art media, that’s his artistic choice to make and he’s welcome to it.
Rock ‘n Roll is all about sticking it to the man, until you go Platinum and become the man…
The guy responsible for Arc/Weld and Freedom is worried that listeners might not get the finer nuances of his music via streaming format?
Please.
Neil Young is still alive? Has he done anything lately?
I was thinking the same thing Miguel. That scares me on so many levels…