I had no idea that individual artists had any say in this (thought that the mega labels determined the fate of everything related to their signed artists).
Or are Yorke and Godrich's solo arrangements with the labels nonstandard, which makes this possible?
Radiohead had a 6-album contract with EMI, but from In Rainbows onwards Radiohead were able to call the shots a bit more, hence being able to release it with a 'pay-what-you-want' model.[1]
The article states that Radiohead's old stuff is still on Spotify, and that the albums removed were Thom Yorke's solo projects. So I imagine that EMI controls the first 6 albums, and so they are still on Spotify, while newer Radiohead content and Yorke's personal projects are more under his control.
This isn't a typical arrangement for new artists, they only got that because they were a huge superstar band already.
The Atoms for Peace project is on XL Recordings which is distributed by Beggars Group. Beggars Group gives all of their artists 50% of streaming revenues.
From what I remember with Yorke and Radiohead, they're at a point where they have pretty much complete control. Whatever label they go with is just who they choose to do distribution.
Or are Yorke and Godrich's solo arrangements with the labels nonstandard, which makes this possible?