Dani Filth, frontman of English metal band Cradle of Filth, has once again revealed his anti-streaming sentiment during a recent interview with Sonic Perspectives. In the interview, Filth discussed Cradle of Filth’s upcoming LP ‘The Screaming of the Valkyries’ set to be released on March 21 via Napalm Records, following the release of their latest track ‘To Live Deliciously’.
When divulging into the group’s continued prominence in the metal scene, the conversation quickly transpired into the frontman’s perspective of music streaming services ruining the culture and consumption of music. Filth contextualised his opinion by referring to his own music collection and how much consumption had changed since the band’s emergence in 1991. The frontman stated: “Speaking for myself, I always saw radio the same way back in the 90s, and so I ended up amassing a personal collection of about 2000 CDs. And I miss the days when there were physical charts… But nowadays it’s like a fuc**ng free-for-all.”
Filth’s comments also alerted to the ideal that consumption and streaming culture varied from genre to genre. In doing so, he admired consumers of metal for being “loyal” and avoiding streaming services, which has subsequently allowed the metal scene to remain “intact”.
It appears the ‘Nymphetamine Fix’ vocalist’s frustrations stem from the suspected underpaying of artists by streaming services, arguably devaluing their art and making music a financially insufficient career. Filth refers to the aftermath of the pandemic: “And I know so many people from big bands that since the pandemic have gone, ‘You know what, I’m taking a proper job. So you’ll see me less often, we’ll still be doing albums, but probably once every five years’. And it’s because, music it’s just seen like daylight robbery.”
He continued to argue that there’s a heightened entitlement when it comes to music that doesn’t exist with other commodities. Filth compared the culture surrounding streaming to an individual entering a supermarket and helping themselves to produce for free. Inferring the outrage that would rise out of this audacity wouldn’t be present when music is concerned as it isn’t physically perceived in the same way. Therefore, the lack of physicality in streaming music portrays the media as a free-for-all.
This isn’t the first time Daniel Lloyd Davey, known professionally as Dani Filth, has openly slammed music streaming platforms. Back in 2023, he referred to Spotify as “the biggest criminals in the world” over their monetary practices, after revealing Cradle of Filth had 26 million plays the year prior, while the frontman “got about 20 pounds”.
Perhaps Filth isn’t the only person to share this mindset. After all, 2024 saw the first increase in physical music in 20 years. The Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA) found the consumption of CDs and vinyl were at a new high, following a new culture of collecting physical media.
Cradle of Filth will be touring the UK this summer, access tickets here. Pre-order ‘The Screaming of the Valkyries’ here.
