Gene Hoglan Says Dark Angel’s New Album Isn’t on Spotify Because “The Music Industry is Not Here to Protect” Artists
If you were hyped up for the release of Dark Angel‘s first album in over 30 years Extinction Level Event but you couldn’t find it on Spotify, that’s not a glitch on your part. In fact, it’s the result of a decision made by the band itself, as they chose to only release the record digitally via Reversed Records’ website. It’s a move that’s raised the bar for fans looking to listen to the record, but according to drummer Gene Hoglan, it was a necessary decision for the band as a whole.
While speaking with We Go To 11, Hoglan revealed that the band decided to avoid Spotify over growing ethical concerns, as well as the direction the platform seems to be going these days.
“If you start taking a look at the terms of use with Spotify, they are making some massive changes right now, and those are kind of uncomfortable. There’s a lot of stuff going on… I just got to read the terms of some of these changes.
“I’m, like, man, I can’t be comfortable with that right at this moment. If something changes somewhere down the road, yes, of course. But right now, it is… Just like the music industry is not here to protect those who are creating the music within the industry, this is another situation where it’s, like, ‘Wow.’”
There’s a lot of changes that he could be talking about. He could be wary of how Spotify changed how artists get paid last year, how A.I. generated music continues to be a problem on the platform, or how other artists have begun pulling their music from the service because of Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s investment in military A.I. research.
Ultimately, Hoglan said it wasn’t about keeping certain people from enjoying Dark Angel’s music, but rather it was a decision that would ultimately let the band sleep at night knowing they did what was best for them.
“Right at this moment, it’s just best for us to do this. I’m gonna always tell people, check out reversedrecords.com. That’s the best way to hear Dark Angel right now. And I want everybody to hear the music, so definitely, go check it out there.”
