Music Against Algorithms: Why Dozens of Artists Are Removing Their Tracks From Spotify
Over the past few years, Spotify has increasingly found itself at the center of high-profile controversies, and the discussion is no longer limited to disputes over artist payouts. A growing number of musicians — from cult indie bands to global superstars — are removing their music from Spotify, turning this decision into a public statement. For some, it is a form of protest; for others, an attempt to regain control over their art; and in certain cases, a forced consequence of political and sanctions-related decisions.
In 2024–2025, this wave of departures became especially visible. Among the artists who decided to leave Spotify were Deerhoof, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Xiu Xiu, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Hotline TNT, Saetia, Swing Kids, Young Widows, and a number of other independent projects. In their statements, musicians openly spoke about their disagreement with the platform’s values, criticizing both its economic model and the investment strategy of the service’s leadership.
One of the key reasons was information about investments made by Spotify’s CEO in technology and defense startups related to artificial intelligence. For some artists, this became a fundamental red line: they did not want their music — even indirectly — to be associated with military developments or to exist within an ecosystem they consider ethically unacceptable. That is why many of them not only removed their releases but also publicly urged fans to reconsider their relationship with streaming subscriptions.
At the same time, artists leaving Spotify is not a new phenomenon. The platform’s history already includes several high-profile acts of protest. In 2014, Taylor Swift removed almost her entire catalog, openly stating that free streaming devalues the work of musicians. Later, other artists took similar steps, dissatisfied with how much Spotify pays for millions of streams. These discussions have never fully disappeared and continue to resurface in public discourse.
A separate category includes cases where music disappeared from the platform not at the artists’ initiative. These involve sanctions-related removals, as a result of which Spotify took down the catalogs of several Russian artists, including SHAMAN, Oleg Gazmanov, Grigory Leps, Polina Gagarina, and others. In these situations, the issue was not a boycott but decisions made by the platform itself in accordance with international restrictions.
Notably, many musicians who left Spotify have not abandoned digital distribution altogether. On the contrary, they actively promote their releases via Bandcamp, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or their own websites, emphasizing that interaction with audiences there feels more honest and transparent. For the independent scene, this also becomes a way to weaken the influence of algorithms that shape listeners’ tastes but rarely account for the interests of the artists themselves.
Today, Spotify remains the world’s largest streaming service, but the departure of an increasing number of musicians clearly shows that its monopoly on audience attention no longer seems unshakable. For some artists, removing their catalog is a political gesture; for others, an economic calculation; and for still others, an attempt to restore meaning and value to a music release in the era of endless digital consumption.
And judging by current trends, this process is only gaining momentum. The more actively Spotify strengthens its ecosystem and business interests, the more often musicians will ask themselves one question: is it worth staying on the platform at all — and at what cost.
