At 2026’s Ivor Novello Awards, Thom Yorke spoke about the state of the music industry and later debuted new song. Yorke, known for his work with Radiohead and the Smile, was inducted into the Fellowship of the Ivors Academy during the ceremony on Thursday, May 21st. As Consequence reports, Yorke used his speech to touch on the mistreatment of artists within the industry and later performed two songs, including new untitled solo song.
Yorke dedicated the award – the highest honor of the Ivor Novello awards – to his wife and children, and to his many bandmates and collaborators. Keeping his focus outwards, Yorke began his speech by stating “To me, every generation has the God-given right to rebel and thumb their nose at the business, and prove everyone wrong.” He continued to emphasize the importance of allowing artists to “go stylistically wherever the fuck they want, because they can,” declaring it the way music stays relevant and that the industry must have faith in their artists.
While he states Radiohead was lucky for the support it received, he fears the industry is becoming further risk-averse and focusing more on old artists and back catalogues rather than supporting newer musicians. Yorke says music, as well as many creative industries, are “all going through this weird, myopic self-destruction,” that causes a lack of investment in the future and “leaves nothing but dust for new artists,” with streaming services being mentioned as a place which the industry is focused too heavily on. Claiming the industry heads aren’t focused on the future, he ends his speech telling those at the top to to “pull your finger out,” closing with the fiery quote “this industry will die and arseholes with it, if all you do is devalue the next generation of artists and their fans. Just remember: without us, you ain’t shit!”
Later at the show, Yorke performed live, starting with an untitled new track. The short snippet of the new song, which is reportedly titled “Space Walk,” showcases it’s emotional blending of piano and Yorke’s lyrics. His interpretive and introspective lyrics come alongside the slow and somber piano notes to create a haunting track. Yorke followed up the reveal with an acoustic version of Radiohead’s “Jigsaw Falling Into Place,” the penultimate track from 2007’s In Rainbows.
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