Artists who left Spotify after boycott calls
Popular music streaming platform Spotify has recently been subjected to massive boycott calls from human rights activists after reports revealed that its CEO, Daniel Ek invested around $600 million in Helsing, a German tech company specializing in AI weapons.
Additionally, beyond its CEO’s investment in the development of AI weaponry, individuals are boycotting the music streaming platform for barely paying its artists a fair share for the music they upload.
According to several reports, Spotify pays its artists $0.003 to $0.005 per stream, which, in contrast to competitors like Tidal, Anghami, and Apple Music, is low. Moreover, several other activists are shedding light on the increase of AI content flooding the platform.
Following the mass boycott calls, several artists have joined the movement by taking down their music from Spotify. This list will not include artists who left Spotify after the platform signed a $250 million agreement with controversial media personality Joe Rogan.
Artists who left Spotify after boycott calls
Several artists have responded to the boycott calls, including Xiu Xiu, Deerhoof, and just recently, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
American indie-rock band Deerhoof recently responded to Ek’s investment in Helsing and said, “We don’t want our music killing people.”
American experimental rock band Xiu Xiu was featured in a YouTube video by the Internet’s busiest music nerd, Anthony Fantano. Xiu Xiu band member Jamie Stewart revealed to Fantano that several smaller records were difficult to remove from Spotify due to label implications.
Stewart added that they don’t want their music to contribute to hurting brown people around the world.
Xiu Xiu took to Instagram with a statement that they are taking down all of their music from what they described as a “garbage hole armageddon portal,” while urging their listeners to unsubscribe from the streaming platform.
Last but not least, in a jaw-dropping move, experimental rock band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard also removed most of their records from Spotify.
King Gizz released a statement on Instagram which read, “We just removed our music from the platform. Can we put pressure on these Dr. Evil tech bros to do better? Join us on another platform. F*ck Spotify.”
