"Spotify has found itself the target of artists' ire for many reasons over the years: poor audio quality, terrible payouts, giving Joe Rogan millions of dollars... the list goes on. But recently it's been CEO and founder Daniel Ek's extracurricular activities that have been cause for consternation. Over the past few months his funding of German defense company Helsing through his investment firm Prima Materia has been the final straw for many acts, including Hotline TNT, Massive Attack, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Deerhoof, and more."
"Then, on Tuesday, Ek announced that he would be stepping down as CEO. Neither Ek nor Spotify gave any indication that the growing furor over his pivot to warfare was the impetus behind the decision. But, if the company was hoping that a byproduct of replacing Ek as CEO would be to stem the tide of artists leaving the platform, I have some bad news."
Spotify has faced artists' ire for issues including poor audio quality, low payouts, and lucrative deals such as giving Joe Rogan millions of dollars. Daniel Ek's personal investments, notably funding German defense company Helsing through Prima Materia, prompted removals by acts like Hotline TNT, Massive Attack, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Deerhoof. Ek announced he would step down as CEO, and neither he nor Spotify tied the decision to the controversy over his pivot to defense. Many artists and labels indicate that concerns run deeper than a single executive and that leadership change alone is unlikely to reverse departures.
Read at The Verge
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