December 17, 2007 14:08

Radiohead slam their former record label Radiohead Tickets

Band say the company 'didn’t understand the music industry'

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Radiohead have slammed Terra Firma, the company that own their former record label, EMI imprint Parlophone, claiming that they do not understand the music industry.

Speaking to BBC 6Music, guitarist Ed O’Brian said that there was hardly any chance the band were going to re-sign with the label once their contract ran out, following the release of 2003’s ‘Hail To The Thief’ album.

"We'll miss the people we work with [at Parlophone],” O’Brien explained. "The rest of the stuff about maybe not understanding the music industry? Terra Firma don’t fully understand."

“We didn’t get what we wanted, it couldn’t be offered,” he continued. “They didn’t understand where a band like us sat on a label like EMI, so they weren’t able to give us what we needed."

“They didn’t seem very interested and neither did we,” singer Thom Yorke added. “They had us on a very long leash for a very long time. That was because they had a series of artists that they allowed to do that, like Pink Floyd and Queen.

“Now you’re in a situation with private equity firms, it [label-owning company Terra Firma] looks at music as something to buy and then sell on.”