{"id":46304,"date":"2025-09-10T22:43:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T22:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/10\/artists-whove-left-spotify-over-ceo-daniel-eks-military-tech-ties\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T22:43:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T22:43:47","slug":"artists-whove-left-spotify-over-ceo-daniel-eks-military-tech-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/10\/artists-whove-left-spotify-over-ceo-daniel-eks-military-tech-ties\/","title":{"rendered":"Artists Who’ve Left Spotify Over CEO Daniel Ek’s Military Tech Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tOver the past few months, a groundswell of indie artists have chosen to cut ties with Spotify<\/a> in protest of CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek<\/a>\u2019s ties to the defense company Helsing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWell-known indie acts like Deerhoof<\/a> and Xiu Xiu have led the exodus, while Australian psych rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard<\/a> are arguably the biggest band<\/a> to remove their music from the streaming service. While their departures may represent a drop in the bucket that is Spotify\u2019s music offerings, their decisions appear to be rooted in anti-war principles and the hope that their actions could spark a larger movement.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs King Gizzard wrote when they announced their decision to leave back in July, \u201cCan we put pressure on these Dr. Evil tech bros to do better?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpotify has faced plenty of protests over the years, with artists declining to make their music available for a variety of reasons. Early on, before Spotify had fully become the dominant force in music that it is now, many artists criticized the streaming royalty model, with Taylor Swift famously pulling<\/a> her music in 2014 and saying at the time<\/a>, \u201cI\u2019m not willing to contribute my life\u2019s work to an experiment that I don\u2019t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists, and creators of this music.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSpotify\u2019s payout system has continued to face<\/a> steep criticism<\/a> over the years, especially as it\u2019s become clear that the royalty pool model tends to most benefit the most popular artists in the world, like Swift. This issue was also frequently cited as artists discussed why they are now leaving the service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBut in recent years, most artists have chosen to leave Spotify for more political and cultural reasons. In 2022, Neil Young<\/a> and Joni Mitchell<\/a> both removed their music from Spotify in protest of the $250 million podcasting deal the company signed with Joe Rogan. (Both Young and Mitchell wound up putting their<\/a> music back<\/a> on Spotify a few years later.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for Ek\u2019s ties to Helsing \u2014 a German defense tech company with a particular focus on artificial intelligence \u2014 the CEO previously garnered criticism after his venture capital firm Prima Materials invested more than $100 million<\/a> into the start-up in 2021. This new wave of protests, though, was sparked by the news earlier this summer that Ek was now the Chairman of Helsing; that Prima Materials had raised over $700 million for the company; and that Helsing\u2019s focus on defense software had expanded to manufacturing drones, aircraft, and submarines.<\/p>\n

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\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n

\n\tIn an interview with The Financial Times<\/em><\/a> in June, Ek rebuffed any criticism he might face over his ties to Helsing. \u201cPersonally, I\u2019m not concerned about it,\u201d he said. \u201cI focus more on doing what I think is right and I am 100 per cent convinced that this is the right thing for Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for the artists leaving Spotify over its CEO also profiting off of a war machine, their statements suggest they, too, are focused less on streaming numbers and doing what they think is right.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tKing Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tThe Australian psych band removed their enormous catalog of music \u2014 27 studio albums alone, not to mention an array of live records \u2014 from Spotify in July. In a short statement on Instagram Stories, they wrote: \u201cHello friends\u2026 A PSA to those unaware: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek invests millions in AI military drone technology\u2026 We just removed our music from the platform\u2026 Can we put pressure on these Dr. Evil tech bros to do better?\u2026 Join us on another platform.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSince then, King Gizzard have encouraged their fans to engage with their music on other platforms, especially Bandcamp, where they\u2019ve made their albums available<\/a> on a pay-what-you-want basis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n

\n\tTurn-of-the-millenium indie favorites Deerhoof announced they were leaving Spotify in June. \u201cWe don\u2019t want our music killing people,\u201d the band said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cWe don\u2019t want our success being tied to AI battle tech. We are privileged that it was a pretty easy decision for us. Spotify only pays a pittance anyway, and we earn a lot more from touring. But we also understand that other artists and labels do rely on Spotify for a bigger chunk of their income, and don\u2019t judge those who can\u2019t make the same move in the short term.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThey continued: \u201cAI battle tech is clearly emerging as the hot new big ticket item for the super-rich. It\u2019s increasingly clear that the military and police exist primarily as the security detail for the billionaire class. The more of the killing you can get computers to do, the better your bottom line. Computerized targeting, computerized extermination, computerized destabilization for profit, successfully tested on the people of Gaza, also finally solves the perennial inconvenience to war-makers\u2013It takes human compassion and morality out of the equation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tXiu Xiu<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tThe experimental outfit founded by Jamie Stewart took their music off Spotify in July, and encouraged listeners to cancel their subscriptions to the streaming service as well. \u201cReason: Spotify uses music money to invest in AI war drones,\u201d the band wrote on Instagram<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThey added: \u201cWe are currently working to take all of our music off of garbage hole violent armageddon portal Spotify. It is taking longer than we had hoped due to procedurally [sic<\/em>] complications but will be completed soon. Thanks for the support and patience. For all the reasons you already know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter pulling their music from Spotify, Xiu Xiu threw their support behind a new music streaming platform, Coda Music. Stewart said in a statement accompanying its launch, \u201cMusic is sacred. It is the first form of organized emotional, spiritual, social and physical expression. This primary human culture deserves care and respect. Coda, within the rightly maligned but inevitable world of streaming, is working to give music fans and working musicians a home where they can find this care and respect. When Xiu Xiu left Spotify to protest their choice to become war profiteers, hundreds of people asked us where they should listen to music. Coda is working to be that place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tHotline TNT<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tIn August, NYC-based rock outfit Hotline TNT yanked their music<\/a>, with frontman Will Anderson saying, \u201cThe company that bills itself as the steward of all recorded music has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that it does not align with the band\u2019s values in any way. A cooler world is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tThe Mynabirds<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tLaura Burhenn, who leads the Omaha-based group the Mynabirds, announced<\/a> in July that she had deleted her personal Spotify account and was working with her label, Saddle Creek, to remove her music. (She thanked Saddle Creek too \u201cfor their support of my decision.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\tIn explaining her decision, Burhenn said, \u201cI will not allow my songs to be turned into bombs. I will not participate in a system that platforms AI music, which perpetuates the devaluation of myself and all other creatives. I will not run in a race to the bottom where billionaire oligarchs get richer while the rest of [us] fight each other for crumbs, and starve \u2014 both literally and spiritually.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tShe continued: \u201cSpotify is the same system of harm we see perpetuated everywhere: the worldwide move \u2014 especially in the US \u2014 to defund all that cares for and feeds us in exchange for funding war, hate, racism, transphobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism and tax breaks for the wealthiest few that makes the rich richer while we fight for crumbs & starve \u2014 literally and spiritually.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWU LYF<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tThis Manchester, England indie outfit actually pulled their one album \u2014 2011\u2019s Go Tell Fire to the Mountain<\/em> \u2014 from streaming services earlier this year as they prepared to announce a reunion tour. In a statement posted<\/a> in September, they said, \u201cThere were several conversations that led to this decision, circling around a disdain for what the Spotify algorithm and economics has done to music culture. Since then we\u2019ve all learned about the Spotify CEO\u2019s investment in A.I. weaponry and seen several bands we respect make statements about removing their music.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSubsequently, WU LYF decided to not only keep Go Tell Fire to the Mountain <\/em>off streaming services, but also make their new single, \u201cA New Life Is Coming\u201d unavailable as well. \u201cNothing ever changes unless we have the courage to try (and perhaps fail) to do things differently,\u201d they wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\tKadhja Bonet\u00a0<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tSinger-songwriter Kadhja Bonet announced<\/a> that she would not only keep her music off Spotify going forward, but other major streaming platforms, too, in an overarching protest against big tech. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe give these tech giants power by furnishing them with all of our best ideas and driving business their way,\u201d she wrote, adding: \u201cIt didn\u2019t seem right to overlook the human rights violations Apple is accused of, Deezer\u2019s owner actively squashing pro-Palestine protests, Google\u2019s (YouTube\u2019s) cooperation in surveillance and military drone technology \u2014 and so on \u2014 so for me it wasn\u2019t enough to stop providing Spotify with my new music. I\u2019m also not supplying new music to Apple, Deezer, Amazon or Youtube. People tell me I have committed career suicide by taking my music off major streamers but I don\u2019t really care. I have faith that artists can paint the picture of an alternate reality and lead the way to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tYoung Widows<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tThe Louisville-based outfit called Ek\u2019s ties to Helsing a \u201cbreaking point\u201d in the statement<\/a> announcing their decision to leave Spotify. \u201cTo think that our fans money is being used to invest in future machines to kill the innocent is beyond inhumane and unacceptable. We do understand that there is truly no just capitalism and every large company in existence has either direct ties or personnel within that are funding means to control, exploit, and manipulate the people. We are more than aware that every streaming platform has its flaws and until people value artists enough to realize streaming has an overall negative impact on music, we will continue to use the other platforms currently available. We do not apologize for the inconvenience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tChad VanGaalen<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tThe Calgary-based singer-songwriter said<\/a> he worked with his labels, Sub Pop and Flemish Eye, to get his music off of Spotify. \u201cI don\u2019t want my art to be part of that,\u201d he said, noting both Spotify\u2019s donation<\/a> to Donald Trump\u2019s 2025 inauguration, as well as Ek\u2019s Helsing ties. \u201cAnd my art doesn\u2019t need to be part of that,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tVanGaalen also made his entire discography available for free on Bandcamp after removing it from Spotify.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\tKalahari Oyster Cult (label)<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tThe Amsterdam-based electronic label announced<\/a> their decision to take all their catalog off Spotify after discussing the move with their artists. \u201cAs a label, and in consultation with the artists we represent, we don\u2019t want our music contributing to or benefiting a platform led by someone backing tools of war, surveillance, and violence,\u201d they wrote. \u201cKeeping our work on Spotify would mean going against everything we stand for.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tDavid Bridie<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tThe celebrated Australian singer-songwriter announced his decision to leave Spotify in an op-ed in The Guardian<\/a> <\/em>with the pointed headline: \u201cSpotify used to seem like a necessary evil for musicians. Now it just seems evil.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHis piece cited the platform\u2019s \u201cinsulting and completely unsustainable\u201d royalty model, especially for independent artists, as well as Ek\u2019s links to Helsing. \u201cEk isn\u2019t paid a salary by Spotify \u2013 he takes a share of its stock, last year alone cashing out a reported $345m,\u201d he wrote. \u201cSo here we are, artists helping to build algorithms to sell our music \u2014 and the success of that algorithm determines the flow of wealth to a man who invests in building machines that could kill people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n