The number of artists who are yet to embrace modern technology are getting to be fewer and fewer and one of the last of the holdouts, Tool, may be getting ready to enter the fray.
Bloomberg is reporting that the band is talking with both Spotify and Apple on the best way to bring their music to the services. For Apple, this could also mean offering the Tool catalog for download which the band has also avoided for years.
Streaming is one of the most controversial formats that the music industry has ever seen. Offering up virtually every piece of music currently in print for free or a low monthly fee, artists criticize it for low payouts as they see the services cutting deeply into their former CD and download income. Only a few artists, such as Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks, are still holding out while acts such as the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Prince and Pink Floyd have relented in recent years.
Formed in 1990, the band has only released four albums, Undertow (1990), Aenima (1996), Lateralus (2001) and 10,000 Days (2006) but a new album has been talked about since 2013. Delayed by “family commitments” and a lawsuit have delayed the set which is now expected this year.
Tool currently has a short tour scheduled for May and June:
05/24 – Fairfax, VA – Eaglebank Arena
05/27 – Bangor, ME – Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
05/28 – Boston, MA – Calling Festival
05/30 – Rochester, NY – Blue Cross Arena
05/31 – Hamilton, ON – First Ontario Centre
06/02 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
06/04 – New York, NY – Randall’s Island Park
06/05 – Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events Center
06/07 – Clarkston, MI – DTR Energy Music Theatre
06/08 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
