"In 2013, Thom Yorke removed his solo albums from the streaming service to protest low royalty payouts (his music has since reappeared on the platform). The following year, Taylor Swift wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal arguing that "music should not be free" and pulled her songs from Spotify; three years later, she returned her discography to all streaming services."
""We don't want our music killing people. We don't want our success being tied to AI battle tech," Deerhoof wrote in a statement shared with NPR. "Deerhoof is a small mom and pop operation, and know when enough is enough. We aren't capitalists, and don't wish to take over the world. Especially if the price of 'discoverability' is letting oligarchs fill the globe with computerized weaponry, we're going to pass on the supposed benefits.""
Multiple bands have been removing their music from Spotify, citing ethical, financial, and safety concerns. Past high-profile withdrawals include Thom Yorke and Taylor Swift over royalties and distribution choices, and Neil Young and Joni Mitchell over platform-hosted misinformation tied to a podcast. Some artists now object to perceived links between streaming discoverability and AI or military applications. Independent musicians describe their operations as unable to accept those tradeoffs. Label representatives say many tech companies present systemic problems, making it difficult for artists to set consistent moral boundaries when deciding where to distribute music.
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