“This Is Why Artists Are Leaving Spotify” — From ICE Ads to AI War Investments and Exploitative Royalties
January 18, 2026
Artists are leaving Spotify because it no longer stands for music, but for profit at any cost
from running ICE recruitment ads to investing in AI war technology and exploiting creators through unfair royalties.
When a platform funds detention, militarization, and replaces artists with algorithms while paying them pennies, walking away isn’t a trend
it’s a moral line. Music should never bankroll oppression.
Artists aren’t leaving because they’re ungrateful.
They’re leaving because they refuse to be complicit.
Music should liberate.
Not fund oppression.
BOYCOTT!
@josh.raines.music
#BoycottSpotify #ArtistsSpeakUp #EthicalStreaming #freepalestine #fyp
English Script:
Josh Raines: So Spotify is wrapped. And here are my top ten reasons why I think we should ditch them for ethical and equitable alternatives. Number one is that they continue to promote ICE recruitment ads and even defended their position on this. Number two is their CEO, Daniel Ek invested hundreds of millions of dollars into AI war technology through Hellsing, a company he’s the chairman of. Number three, their terms and conditions still allow them to use artist music and content to train their internal AI systems. Number four the major labels including Sony Warner. Universal. They still own 7% of Spotify, and they were found to be in 80 to 90% of the top spots on editorial playlists, despite only actually accounting for about 40% of the catalog. They renegotiated new direct distribution deals in 2025, That pushed major label artists higher and gave them higher royalty rates. Number five is they still actively push AI music and AI artists. Number six, their royalty rate is one of the worst out of all of the streaming platforms. And they refuse to pay artists with less than a thousand streams. Number seven is they still have a payola program with Discovery mode, artists can give up 30% of their royalties to be pushed higher into your personal searches and recommendations for music. Number eight is they actively buy stock music, and then they push that music higher into your recommendations and on playlists so they can dilute the royalty pool and pay less to independent artists. Number nine, their streaming quality is worse than all the other platforms I have recommended here. Number ten price increases across the world, 2026 will see higher prices for the US and Canada. So here are my ethical and equitable alternatives I think we should switch to. For streaming: Qobuz, Tidal, Deezer and Coda Music. To transfer your playlists, use Soundiiz and Tune My Music. For purchasing music, use Subvert and Bandcamp. For audiobooks, use Libro FM. Guys, Spotify is wrapped. Let’s ditch them.
