Will New TOOL Album Be Available On Spotify? (Spoiler: Probably Not…)

Richard Goodwin 26/02/2019 – 9:41am

TOOL is extremely anti-digital music and always has been. But will its long awaited new album buck the trend?

If I was a betting man, I’d say, no – there is a 100% zero chance of that happening.

Why’s that, then? Simple: TOOL hates digital music. The band also knows that it has the selling-power and fan base to avoid it and still do what it wants with respect to sales.

Maynard James Keenan on Digital Music

Back in 2013, Maynard James Keenan described digital music a “disconnected thing you can’t touch, feel, or experience” – and I don’t think his opinion will have changed all that much since then.

More recently, he said: “With everything that’s happened with digital and social media, there’s an abundance of platforms for people to squeak," said Keenan in an interview with NME.

He added: "What they’re squeaking about,” he continues, “always seems to be about what you’re doing wrong, rather than what they’re doing wrong. There’s little accountability. There’s little desire to look at themselves and ask what they’re contributing to make things better…”

But Puscifer and A Perfect Circle Are On Spotify?

Yes, they are – but neither of these bands is TOOL. They’re side-projects that can’t really be viewed in the same light as TOOL. Nor do they have the same influence behind them.

No one really knows why TOOL is so averse to digital music; no one knows if it is Maynard, Danny, Adam, or Justin that is against it. It could be all or a pact they made years ago. No one knows for sure.

As a long-time fan, however, I do have some theories. Specifically, I think the main thing with TOOL missing from Apple Music, Tidal, and Spotify comes down to a couple of things:

1. TOOL takes the artwork that accompanies its records very seriously; they’re almost as important as the music itself. That’s why it uses the same artist for each album (Alex Grey, if you’re wondering).
2. TOOL is as much an art project as it is a prog-metal band. They take all elements of the band and its output extremely seriously. Ten years between albums, tells you that pretty matter of factly! For this reason, each release has been as holistic as possible – and that means physical products (LPs and CDs), not digital downloads.

Holistic is the word of the day here. TOOL has never allowed its label to split up its songs for “best of compilations” or “The Best of TOOL” releases either. Each album has to be considered as a whole piece of work. And you gotta respect the guys for that, for sticking to their principles, as it is so rare these days.

TOOL’s New Album Might Come To Spotify Though…

You’ve probably heard rumors that TOOL’s new album will come to Spotify, and that this move will open the floodgates for the band’s entire back catalog on Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal.

While I would love this to happen, it’s just so handy having music readily accessible whenever I want it, I just don’t see it happening. TOOL is an institution now. It is a brand and a viable business for all concerned, so I don’t see them changing anything in 2019 and beyond.

Maynard James Keenan has a net worth of $60 million dollars. And if you’ve read anything about the guy, you’ll know he is not a greedy man, nor does he actually appear to care about money all that much. Given this, I don’t see how the band could be persuaded to go back on its morals and release its music on digital platforms.

They don’t need the money, the way they do things work, they hate what digital music represents, and they’ll sell tens of millions of albums as soon as the long-awaited follow up to 10,000 Days drops…

Bottomline: TOOL does what it wants when it wants. And that’s cool, it’s what makes them so good. And it is also why millions of people are hanging on tenterhooks waiting for the new album, which has been 10 years in the making…