<
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/12/spotify-boycott-artists>
"This month, indie musicians in Oakland, California, gathered for a series of
talks called
Death to Spotify, where attenders explored “what it means to
decentralize music discovery, production and listening from capitalist
economies”.
The events, held at Bathers library, featured speakers from indie station KEXP,
labels Cherub Dream Records and Dandy Boy Records, and DJ collectives No Bias
and Amor Digital. What began as a small run of talks quickly sold out and drew
international interest. People as far away as Barcelona and Bengaluru emailed
the organizers asking how to host similar events.
The talks come as the global movement against Spotify edges into the
mainstream. In January, music journalist Liz Pelly released
Mood Machine, a
critical history arguing the streaming company has ruined the industry and
turned listeners into “passive, uninspired consumers”. Spotify’s model, she
writes, depends on paying artists a pittance – less still if they agree to be
“playlisted” on its Discovery mode, which rewards the kind of bland,
coffee-shop muzak that fades neatly into the background.
Artists have long complained about paltry payouts, but this summer the
criticism became personal, targeting Spotify’s billionaire co-founder Daniel Ek
for his investment in Helsing, a German firm developing AI for military tech.
Groups including Massive Attack, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Deerhoof and
Hotline TNT pulled their music from the service in protest. (Spotify has
stressed that “Spotify and Helsing are two separate companies”.)
In Oakland, California, Stephanie Dukich read
Mood Machine, heard about the
boycotts, and was inspired."
Via Susan ****, who wrote "Bandcamp FTW!"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
