--- description: "YouTube has seized control of [art]" title: Radiohead's Thom Yorke Compared YouTube to Nazi Germany image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8a499e52c7057cb/6988736ef887dc20dee938ba/thom-yorke.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Radiohead's Thom Yorke Compares YouTube to Nazi Germany by [ashley Ross](/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2015 3:23 PM CUT  Thom Yorke performs on Day 2 of The Big Chill Festival in Ledbury, England on Aug. 6, 2010. Thom Yorke performs on Day 2 of The Big Chill Festival in Ledbury, England on Aug. 6, 2010.Nick Pickles—Getty Images by [ashley Ross](/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2015 3:23 PM CUT Radiohead’s frontman Thom Yorke told an [Italian newspaper](http://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/musica/2015/11/28/news/thom%5Fyorke-128361708/?refresh%5Fce "undefined") that he thinks YouTube is similar to Nazi Germany. “YouTube has seized control of \[art\] – it’s like what the Nazis did during the second world war,” he said. “I don’t use YouTube, that’s for sure. They put ads before everything, making big money and artists don’t get paid – or don’t get paid enough – and that’s fine, apparently. \[But\] if they don’t get profit from \[ad-blocking\] then no, it’s not fair. They keep saying that this is an era where music is free, where cinema is free. Not true. The makers of these services make money. Google, Youtube; a huge amount of money, trawling like in the ocean, taking everything there is. ‘Oh sorry, was that yours? Now it’s ours. No, no just kidding – it’s still yours’.” He continued by denouncing the digital music space as well, saying that ” with every single vinyl there’s some relationship… \[That\] doesn’t exist with USB and digital.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4132472/thom-yorke-nazi-youtube/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4132472/thom-yorke-nazi-youtube/"},"headline":"Radiohead's Thom Yorke Compares YouTube to Nazi Germany","datePublished":"2015-12-02T15:23:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:02:17.797Z","description":"\"YouTube has seized control of [art]\"","url":"https://time.com/4132472/thom-yorke-nazi-youtube/","keywords":["Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8a499e52c7057cb/6988736ef887dc20dee938ba/thom-yorke.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"ashley Ross","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8a499e52c7057cb/6988736ef887dc20dee938ba/thom-yorke.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Big Chill - Day 2","caption":"The Big Chill - Day 2","creditText":"Nick Pickles—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4132472/thom-yorke-nazi-youtube/","name":"Radiohead's Thom Yorke Compares YouTube to Nazi Germany"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Tech Time: The Adult's Guide to YouTube Stars","description":"Some of the biggest stars out there aren't on TV or the big screen, but on your computer. TIME Tech Editor, Alex Fitzpatrick explains all you need to know about YouTube stars.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/nq0QP9Tp/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-28T19:56:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nq0QP9Tp.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4132472/thom-yorke-nazi-youtube/","duration":"PT1M25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4132472/thom-yorke-nazi-youtube/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```