Former AMON AMARTH Drummer Slams JOHAN HEGG For 'Hypocritical' Comments About Music-Streaming Payouts

Ex-AMON AMARTH drummer Fredrik Andersson says that it's "hypocritical" of singer Johan Hegg to complain about payouts from music-streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.

In a recent interview with Australia's Wall Of Sound, the AMON AMARTH frontman said that the music-streaming companies "are not paying the artists nearly enough." He added that "one of the dangers" of bands not receiving "a fair amount of money" is that "it's gonna be difficult for new artists to have the opportunity to do this full time. If you can't make enough money from doing it, how are you gonna be able to do it? People sometimes forget that, yes, it is a passion, it's art, but it's also a job, and artists need to pay their bills as well," he said.

After BLABBERMOUTH.NET published an article on Thursday highlighting Hegg's comments, Andersson took to his Facebook page to offer his two cents. He wrote: "While I feel it's quite hypocritical of the man, who recently basically said I do not deserve to get paid as much as the other members, complaining about not getting enough money I think he fails to realize that it's an enormous privilege to even get paid for the music, not a right. And historically, these few decades of musicians getting wealthy are quite unique."

A year ago, Andersson slammed his former bandmates, saying that he was "forced out of the band" and was given a final "payout that still to this day feels demeaning."

Andersson was fired from AMON AMARTH in March 2015, just as the band was preparing to enter the studio to begin work on its "Jomsviking" album. AMON AMARTH opted to enlist a session drummer, Tobias Gustafsson (VOMITORY, CUT UP),during the recording sessions for the disc, but hired Jocke Wallgren to join them on the road. Wallgren was named a permanent member of AMON AMARTH in September 2016.

In a social media post, Andersson revealed that he and his former bandmates "had our issues and differences for a long period of time and it all added up into what eventually became a harsh split. For a long time, I felt I wasn't respected and treated as a full member despite all the years in the band and I guess it came to a boiling point from both sides." He claimed that he was only given his "share of the public performance rights" following his dismissal and "nothing else." He said: "At a very hostile last meeting, where I felt both insulted and threatened, I had no alternative but to accept the terms I was offered."

In a 2016 interview with Brazil's "Wikimetal" podcast, AMON AMARTH guitarist Olavi Mikkonen stated about the band's split with Andersson: "I don't really wanna go into details regarding Fredrik, but, basically, we just separated. It's kind of like a marriage that doesn't work, and you get divorced. And that's kind of what happened to our band."

AMON AMARTH bassist Ted Lundström described Wallgren as "a super-solid drummer" who is "very professional" and "very on-the-spot all the time." He added: "It is much easier to play if you have a drummer who is [tight]. It makes our lives easier."