Neil Young pulls his music from ALL streaming services claiming they have 'worst sound quality in history'

  • Says music is being 'devalued by the worst quality in the history'
  • Claims it 'doesn't feel right allowing this to be sold to my fans'
  • Will continue to sell music to purchasers of his $399 Pono player

Neil Young has become the latest artist to pull his music from streaming services - but rather than arguing over money, he says the sound quality isn't good enough. 

'I don't need my music to be devalued by the worst quality in the history of broadcasting or any other form of distribution,' the Canadian rocker said in a post on his Facebook page.

'I don't feel right allowing this to be sold to my fans. It's bad for my music.'

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Neil Young has become the latest artist to pull his music from streaming services - but rather than arguing over money, he says the sound quality isn't good enough.

Neil Young has become the latest artist to pull his music from streaming services - but rather than arguing over money, he says the sound quality isn't good enough.

NEIL YOUNG'S STATEMENT 

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.

Young, 69, was one of the biggest rock stars of the 1960s and 1970s with bands like Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and a successful solo career that has included albums like 'Harvest' and 'Rust Never Sleeps.'

He has long complained about digital audio and, as a result, has developed Pono, a portable player that aims to lend a higher quality than streaming or MP3.

Young said his decision is 'not because of the money, although my share (like all other artists) was dramatically reduced by bad deals made without my consent.'

His criticism is a new blow to streaming services like Spotify, the target of criticism from artists who complain of meager payments for their work.

Most notably, top-selling pop star Taylor Swift withdrew her catalogue from Spotify last November, saying the business had shrunk the number of paid album sales drastically.

Last month, Swift agreed to put her latest hit album '1989' on Apple Music, days after Apple did an about-face, agreeing to pay artists during a free trial of its new streaming music service.

Young also left the door open to returning to streaming.

'When the quality is back, I'll give it another look. 

'Never say never,' he said.

The move comes as U.S. government antitrust regulators are looking into claims about whether Apple's treatment of rival streaming music apps is illegal under antitrust law, according to three industry sources.

Apple recently launched a new music streaming service, Apple Music. 

While $9.99 has emerged as the going monthly rate for music subscriptions, including Apple's, some streaming companies complain that Apple's cut forces them to either charge more in the App Store than they do on other platforms or erode their profit margins.

THE PONO PLAYER - A NEW FRONTIER OR SNAKE OIL? 

The PonoPlayer has an LCD touch screen interface, and 128GB of memory allowing it to store 100 to 500 high-resolution digital-music albums. 

Memory cards can be used to store and play different playlists and additional collections of music.

The PonoPlayer will be sold at PonoMusic.com for $399 MSRP and is available for pre-order at a discounted price on Kickstarter.com as of March 15th.

PonoMusic recommended earbud and headphone products will also be available for purchase on PonoMusic.com.

Young has long complained about digital audio and, as a result, has developed Pono, a portable player that aims to lend a higher quality than streaming or MP3.

Young has long complained about digital audio and, as a result, has developed Pono, a portable player that aims to lend a higher quality than streaming or MP3.

PonoMusic worked with Colorado firm Ayre to create the service.

'We are absolutely thrilled to be a part of this project. We will always be grateful to Neil Young for changing the landscape of recorded music,' said Charlie Hansen, CEO of Ayre Acoustics.

However, several reviewers has likened the service to 'snake oil', saying the sound difference is hard to hear.

The Federal Trade Commission is looking at the issue but has not begun a formal investigation, said the three industry sources, who requested anonymity. 

The agency has had meetings with multiple concerned parties, one source said. 

The agency meets with companies routinely, and a formal investigation may not materialize.

HOW THE STREAMING SERVICES COMPARE
Service  Cost 
Apple Music Apple Music will cost $9.99 a month or $14.99 for a family plan (up to six family members) - both with a three-month free trial
Tidal $9.95-a-month for standard sound quality and $19.99-a-month for 'lossless high fidelity sound quality' (£9.99 and £19.99 in the UK)

Spotify  Free level with adverts, Premium $9.99-a-month service (£9.99 in the UK)
Beats Music  $9.99-a-month or $99 per year
Pandora $4.99-a-month for Pandora's ad-free internet radio service
Deezer Free with adverts, $9.99-a-month for Premium+ (£9.99 in the UK)
Rdio Free with adverts, Rdio Unlimited costs $9.99 (£9.99 in the UK) and US users can also get Rdio Select for $3.99 a month with limited downloads

It also provides the App Store platform for competing streaming services including Jango, Spotify, Rhapsody and others - and takes a 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases for digital goods, such as music streaming subscriptions and games, sold on its platform.

APPLE MUSIC - DAILYMAIL.COM'S VERDICT

The service first asks what kind of music you like 

The service first asks what kind of music you like 

Apple's streaming music service, called Apple Music, has finally gone live - and it will have rivals like Spotify and Tidal quaking in their boots.

The app is automatically installed on phones as part of an iOS update released this morning - meaning if your phone is up to date, you'll already have it.

It comes with a highly publicised three month free trial, after which Apple will charge $9.99 (or £9.99) per month for service - on a part with its rivals.

The first time you use the app, it'll ask you for your favourite genres and artists, to help it start to recommended music for you.

Once that's done, you're dropped into the new home screen, which shows you your recommended music.

At the bottom are a row of icons showing you what's new, listen to Apple's Beats 1 radio, see Connect, the social network for artists (which so far seems lacking in content) and see your playlist and the music on your phone.

When playing, there's an option to save music offline, and you can mix music already on your phone with streaming or downloaded tracks.

Sound quality is very good, but not great - it's comparable to Spotify, but not a patch on Tidal's high quality $14.99 HiFi option. 

However, for most users, especially those using Apple's own white earpods, it'll be more than adequate.

Overall, after a few minutes of confusion, you'll be at home with the app. 

Beats 1 is a superbly curated radio station that could become the hidden gem of Apple Music, but otherwise Apple Music doesn't really have any revolutionary features that will have its competitors quaking - but the key is that it doesn't need to.

It has the basics incredible well covered, and for the vast majority of users, that's more than enough. 

The apps main screen shows the breadth opf music on the service - and that the firm really has made up with Taylor Swift

The apps main screen shows the breadth opf music on the service - and that the firm really has made up with Taylor Swift

There are some questions over certain features -  only time will tell if areas such as the Connect social network are used.

But most important of all, Apple Music just works.

Given the firm's history with cloud based services, it could have made things far too complicated, but the balance is just right, and focuses on listening to music and not the technical details of what's stored where. 

It's biggest rival, Spotify, in many ways has a more innovative app, which it has had time to polish and develop - attracting over 70m users in the process (with around 20m of those paying). 

However, ease of use is key to Apple, and its three month free trial is a masterstroke.

The crunch for Apple will come in three months, when the initial trials run out -  and for a lot of users, I'd wager that they'll pay up and stream their music simply because its easy, the app is already there, and Apple already has their credit card in the iTunes Store.

Apple may be a little late to the streaming game, but the Music app shows that, once again, the firm is set to change the way the masses listen to music.

 

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