‘We Don’t Need Them’: Indie Artists Pull Catalogue From Spotify Following Daniel Ek’s Military AI Investment

It’s no secret, independent artists have been frustrated with Spotify for years.

Those grievances have spilled over with parliamentary inquiries, White Papers, campaigns, and protests, mostly targeting the Swedish tech company’s meagre royalty payments.

A megabucks licensing deal for Joe Rogan’s podcast was on the nose with the artist community, as was a new policy that rolled in 2024 which meant that, to qualify for payments, a track on Spotify must accumulate at least 1,000 streams in a 12-month span. 

The market-leading streamer finds itself donning the black hat once again, this time with the news that Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has invested €600 million ($A1 billion) in military tech start-up Helsing.

Now, a wave of independent artists are responding by boycotting the platform. 

For Melbourne/Naarm folk singer Leah Senior, seeing Ek invest his Spotify profits in defence tech was the last straw.

“As soon as I saw that Daniel Ek is investing in AI military technology, something just snapped and I thought, ‘Enough,’” Senior tells The Music Network. “We all know Spotify is bad, has always been bad, but artists are made to feel like we need it, like it’s just a necessary evil of the current music world. Well I’m saying, we don’t need them.”

Senior has decided to pull her music from Spotify. Her two albums released on Flightless Records remain on Spotify for now, but her latest album, 2023’s The Music That I Make, released on Poison City Records, is already gone from the platform.

Senior is following the lead of US indie rock band Deerhoof, who pulled no punches in announcing their exit from the platform. “We don’t want our music killing people,” they said in a statement. “We don’t want our success being tied to AI battle tech.”

Deerhoof’s recording career dates back three decades and includes 20 studio albums. As of July 3rd, 2025, the band was attracting 113,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and had multiple songs with more than 1 million streams.

But they said parting with Spotify was a no-brainer. “We are privileged that it was a pretty easy decision for us. Spotify only pays a pittance anyway, and we earn a lot more from touring.”

Deerhoof’s decision was supported by their label, Joyful Noise Recordings. “As a label, we too are sickened by the fact that our releases have inadvertently contributed to the global war machine.”

But the label – which has also put out records by Dinosaur Jr., Surfer Blood, and Australian act Tropical Fuck Storm – stopped short of withdrawing its entire catalogue from the service. “It is ultimately [the artists’] decision to present their material on whichever platforms they choose,” reads a social post from the indie.

Ek’s latest investment – reportedly handled via his Prima Materia investment company – follows a €100 million investment in Helsing in 2021, which was instrumental in getting the business underway.

Munich-based Helsing is now valued at €12 billion, making it one of the top five most valuable private tech companies in Europe. Ek’s €600 million injection would see the company branch out from AI defence software and begin producing drones, aircraft and submarines, per the Financial Times.

Speaking to the FT, Ek, who’s now Helsing’s chairman, described the investment as “doubling down.” “There’s an enormous realisation that it’s really now AI, mass and autonomy that is driving the new battlefield,” he told the so-called pink paper.

Forbes estimates Ek’s net worth to be $US10.2 billion. He’s said to be wealthier than any musician in history, and worth more than Jay Z, Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift combined.

Dougal Shaw is the frontperson of Melbourne/Naarm post-punk band Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice and the brains behind indie label Marthouse Records. Beginning with new album Blue/Bubble, Dr Sure’s music will also be absent from Spotify, but Shaw understands that a few independent artists turning away from Spotify won’t impact the company’s bottom line. 

“I’m trying to think of a way to do it that might help mobilise a wider boycott,” Shaw tells The Music Network. “It’s hard to feel like it has any impact as a smaller artist, but if we can get more established artists on board I think it can be powerful.”

Shaw adds, “Withholding our work, our labour, that’s just about the only tool we’ve got.”

Dutch dance music label Kalahari Oyster Cult has already wiped the bulk of its catalogue from Spotify, including releases by Australian acts OK EG, Reflex Blue and Furious Frank. In a statement, the label, run by DJ Rey Colino, said that keeping their music on Spotify would conflict with their values.

“We don’t want our music contributing to or benefiting a platform led by someone backing tools of war, surveillance, and violence,” they said. “Spotify has built its business by underpaying and undervaluing the very people who give it life. We’re done being part of that.”

It’s worth noting that Ek’s initial investment in Helsing, in November 2021, was similarly criticised. As reported by Resident Advisor, electronic producer Darren Sangita called for a boycott, while artists such as Brisbane vaporwave producer b l u e s c r e e n left the platform.

But Ek – whose net worth has reportedly doubled since 2021 – seems unfazed by the potential for more backlash to his latest €600 million investment in Helsing.

“I’m sure people will criticise it and that’s OK,” he told the FT. “Personally, I’m not concerned about it. I focus more on doing what I think is right and I am 100 per cent convinced that this is the right thing for Europe.”