It’s that time of year again where everyone is posting their Spotify Wrapped statistics, but y’know – Spotify isn’t exactly doing much for creatives. Outside paying artists pretty much nothing, they’re also keen on pushing AI-slop and running ICE recruitment ads (which has pissed off bands) all while former CEO Daniel Ek uses his money to fund drone warfare.
And yes – bands have been pulling their music. We’ve spoken about King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard doing so, as well as Godspeed! You Black Emperor and even the new Dark Angel record. But there are tons at this point and loads more criticism where that came from as well.
Fight for the Future – an online organization that fights to “win public interest victories previously thought to be impossible” – is going up against the streaming giant with a new protest movement called Spotify Whacked. Which is a great name, but also puts how terrible a company Spotify is into the limelight at a pretty crucial time.
Alongside their website and petition (which you can find right here), Fight For The Future describes Spotify Whacked as such: “Artists and fans are leaving Spotify in droves, and there’s no shortage of reasons why.
“Between paying artists virtually nothing, pushing AI-generated slop, running ICE recruitment ads, a payola lawsuit, and its former CEO Daniel Ek using the company’s profits to invest in AI military drones, Spotify’s 2025 vibe is more like steaming garbage than streaming giant.
“Musicians like Massive Attack, Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, and more have removed their music from the platform in protest, punching holes in the music streaming service once known for having it all. Listeners are putting their effort into ethical alternatives to Spotify, and there are a lot of them!
“People who care about the future of music and still got their basic humanity on board are organizing this page as a way to get the word out on why one new year’s resolution everyone should have is to dump Spotify for good.”
Fight for the Future’s Lia Holland added: “With Spotify Wrapped, the corporation is using their customers’ love of music to try and gloss over the militaristic, hateful, and cruel choices that their leadership made in 2025. Sharing a Spotify Wrapped shouldn’t be a comfortable experience for listeners this holiday season.
“Instead, we are making Spotify’s annual art-washing an incitement to consider whether you want to be complicit with devaluing music, AI killing machines, and human rights abuses. It’s extremely easy to choose a platform that isn’t Spotify—in fact, this is a new years resolution that most people could check off their list in under an hour.”
I should also probably note that the whole Spotify Wrapped thing was also designed by an intern that never received credit for their work.
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