The legendary singer-songwriter has some dozen unreleased recordings that he plans to add to his new archival website. He has also graced the big screen as the "Man in the Black Hat" in a new film.
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The 72-year-old Canadian musician announced on Thursday that in the future, fans will be able to access all the music he has ever recorded, whether previously released or otherwise, online at his archival website.
The digital music repository is one of the latest bursts of artistic activity from Young, whose thoughtful lyrics and blend of musical influences uniquely stamped the development of rock music over more than five decades.
"I like to get it out there so I'm alive to see how people like it," Young told news agency AP in a telephone interview from Austin, Texas.
The Neil Young Archives site, which he launched in December, requires a user name and password login to access streaming recordings in the highest-quality possible audio. While the site is currently accessible at no cost, a digital sticky note on the homepage warns, "Free for now…" and points to a forthcoming subscription.
Young, who has released more than 50 albums including studio, live, and soundtracks, also said that he has 12 to 14 unreleased records made between the late 1960s and 2012 that he would like to release.
"When I made these records, I made them so fast that I couldn't put them all out," he told AP. "I finished one and I'd go on to the next one. That's just the way it was at that time."
The next planned album release, "Roxy – Tonight's the Night Live" from a 1973 concert with his then-band, is set for April.
'The Man in the Black Hat'
Young was in Austin attending the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival for the premiere of the film "Paradox," in which he plays a character called The Man in the Black Hat. He's also behind the film's music.
"Paradox," a time-bending fantasy-western film written and directed by Daryl Hannah, Young's girlfriend, will have a limited run in cinemas and will be released on Netflix on March 23.
Young was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, first as a solo artist in 1995 and two years later as a member of the Buffalo Springfield Band. He has received numerous music awards, including the American Grammys and the Canadian Junos.
10 stars who've shunned Apple Music, Spotify and Co.
Music streaming is finally de rigueur in the music industry, with hundreds of millions of users. But while more and more music fans are switching on, many big name artists are pulling the plug.
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Neil Young
He's the cranky granddaddy of indie rock - and the Canadian has finally given music streaming the boot. Young's own gripe with streaming isn't about royalties: It is about audio quality, which he bluntly calls "the worst." In 2014 the rocker launched PonoPlayer, a crowd-funded, high-definition audio player for audiophile aficionados. "Cortez the Killer" will never sound the same again.
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Björk
Innovative and cutting edge, Björk has embraced the future like few others - including streaming. But when it came to the release of her ninth Album, "Vulnicura," the Icelandic singer had a sudden change of heart, withholding it from Spotify. "To work on something for two or three years and then just, 'Oh, here it is for free,'" she lamented. "It’s not about the money; it’s about respect…"
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Prince
He's an icon - and a maverick. Somewhat a recluse, Prince's endless hits are ubiquitous the world over. But in July 2015, the mercurial hit-maker announced enough was enough - he was pulling the entire catalogue from every streaming service, from Apple Music to Spotify, without warning or reason. The move followed his puzzling 2010 claim that "the Internet's completely over."
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Thom Yorke
Never one to mince words, Spotify was in for an ear-bashing when the Radiohead frontman called time in 2013. "Make no mistake, new artists you discover on Spotify will not get paid. Meanwhile shareholders will shortly be rolling in it." The Brit millionaire pulled his solo albums in solidarity with the underdogs, claiming Spotify was "the last gasp of the old industry."
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Lacuna Coil
There are few more passionate and loyal music communities than metal fans. Recognizing this "brand power," metal label Century Records - home to Italy's Lacuna Coil, as well as metal mega-stars like Arch Enemy and Iced Earth - ripped their entire catalogue from streaming land and put their attention to building a formidable online shop. (How about a coffee mug with your Butcher Babies CD?).
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Taylor Swift
Spotify undoubtedly played its bit-part in the stratospheric rise of Swift. But the relationship turned sour in 2014, with the American abruptly removing her entire catalogue from the Swedish streaming service, telling "Time" streaming had "shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically." It was later alleged she had secretly done an exclusive deal with Google's streaming Service, Music Key.
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The Beatles
One by one, the titans fell to streaming - first Metallica, then Led Zeppelin and more recently AC/DC. However, the Fab Four have stood their ground, not ceding a note of the band's illustrious catalogue - a swag of songs that's been valued at over $1 billion - to any streaming service. To lay the boot in, Paul McCartney removed his solo material from all streaming services in 2012.
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Magnus Uggla
Spotify launched in 2008 and had 10 million users by 2010. Today the Stockholm-based company has more than 75 million users, and has been credited with remedying the scourge of piracy at home in Sweden. Still, countryman and rock icon Magnus Uggla wasn't buying the hype - removing his own catalogue way back in 2009, venting that in six months he earned "what a mediocre busker could earn in a day."
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Jay Z
With a fortune estimated at $520 million, Jay Z snapped up Norwegian streaming service Tidal - which he re-launched in ostentatious fashion in March 2015, with a posse of millionaire A-list ring-ins (pictured). The rapper then took a second swipe at Spotify, removing his iconic debut album "Reasonable Doubt" from its playlist. A month later he was forced to defend disappointing sales at Tidal.
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Black Keys
From garage obscurity to Grammy awards, US rockers the Black Keys have battled their way to the top. But the duo's lost none of that grassroots fire, withholding the last two albums from Spotify. Drummer Patrick Carney took aim at Spotify CEO and founder Daniel Ek: "[He's] worth something like $3 billion…he's richer than Paul McCartney and he's 30 and he's never written a song." Ouch.
