Like a lot of independent artists I’ve been struggling for a while now with my feelings towards streaming platforms - specifically Spotify.

For a long time we’ve been told that if our music is not out for streaming on the major platforms then no one is ever going to hear it. And maybe that is true.

But at what cost?

It’s no secret that Spotify is one of the biggest culprits in how poorly it pays the artists with streams between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream. And that’s assuming that the artist makes the minimum number of streams (1000 streams per track in the previous year) in order to qualify for payment - a ruling that they brought in in April 2024 as a way of cutting the cost of paying artists. 

At the time Spotify claimed that this would only affect a small number of artists, however recent reports suggest that less than 20% of the 8 million or so artists on the platform meet the minimum number of plays.

At the time the majority of artists complained (myself included) that this would mean our revenue from Spotify would decrease from a pittance to nothing.

And yet, most of us didn’t do anything about it.

We stayed with the platform fearing that not being there would mean that we would fade into obscurity, that no one would hear our music. Applications for festivals, gigs, radio play, print media, playlists and many others asked specifically for Spotify links, so we continued to put up with little to no pay all in the vain hope of getting in front of wider audiences who would discover us and buy tickets to gigs and merch from our online stores.

But it very rarely worked out like that for a lot of artists - even the more well established artists. 

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and reports started emerging that Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, was investing in a military AI start up company in Germany to the tune of almost $700 million. (The most recent reports now state that he is also the chairman of this new company).

Not only is that an obscene amount of money that could have been paid directly (or at least  invested) to the artists that he has been profiting from, but he’s using that money to directly fund the development of equipment and AI software that will be used in war.

Let that sink in for a minute - the revenue created from OUR music being on Spotify has directly contributed to funding equipment that is to be USED IN WAR!

At a time when the world is already divided and broken from war and conflict we should be finding ways to bring about peace - not create more weapons.

I am a pacifist.

In many of my songs I try and write about love and being kind and taking care of yourself and others, and even in the more darker songs I try and include moments of hope and resolution. 

This latest move by Daniel Ek goes against everything I stand for.

That’s why I have made the choice to remove ALL of my music from Spotify and will no longer release any music on the platform.

And I’m glad to say that I’m not the only one either:

• Laura Burhenn, lead singer/songwriter from The Mynabirds posted soon after these initial reports came out about it on Instagram, saying that she was going to be removing all of her music from the platform.
• San Fransisco indie band Deerhoof made headlines across multiple news outlets reporting about how they are taking their music off Spotify.
• Berlin based artist/DJ/producer and record label owner Julie Marghilano has recently posted that she is moving her own music, and the whole catalogue of her record label Sol Asylum from Spotify.
• Sleep Party People - the alias of Danish musician Brian Batz has recently posted that he’s removing all of his music from Spotify.
• English singer-songwriter Lisa Moorish (formerly of the band Kill City) has called for a boycott of Spotify.
• Wrexham poet/artist (and friend) Evrah Rose has been posting on social media about removing all of her music from Spotify.
• My regular collaborator and friend Brandon Green from Texas band Formerly Misinformed is removing all of his music and won’t be releasing his new upcoming album on the platform. 

I’m sure as time goes on that there are and will be others.

While I appreciate that myself and these seven other bands/artists won’t currently make much of a dent in the 8 million artists and bands still on the platform, change has to begin somewhere. I first heard about all of this from Laura Burhenn’s Instagram post (initially reposted by another artist) and immediately began talking to Brandon about it. My hope is that other artists will see similar posts and articles and be inspired and challenged to do the same.

We also need to stop thinking of Spotify as a music platform

Streaming platforms aren’t great for artists and music in general, but some are better than others and Spotify is by far the worst offender as it is getting as far away from being artist focused (and therefore music focused) as is possible - especially with the funding of AI military start ups, and the even more recent reports of a new “band” on the platform allegedly being completely created by AI.

These recent reports just further highlight comments made by Daniel Ek whereby he described artists on the platform as nothing more than “content creators” who should be focusing on churning out product to be consumed by the masses, especially when, as he claims, the cost of creating “content” is “close to zero” nowadays.

For one thing I do not personally define what I do as “content”. I am a songwriter. I create music to express my emotions and feelings, and to engage with people who may feel the same way about things. I want people to be as passionate about my art as I am. I don’t want it to be just be background music to break the silence and listened to on a superficial level. There is so much music out there that I love and get passionate about, and that’s how the music I enjoy has always made me feel. I want other people to feel that same way about what I do. 

In talking with Brandon of the band Formerly Misinformed about this he pointed out that Spotify is now nothing more than an advertising network - “They don’t care about artists or even if the music is real”. With the recent addition of an AI created band - The Velvet Sundown - racking up over 1 million followers in less than a couple of weeks (when many real artists don’t even manage to make the 1000 streams a year threshold) it just continues to add weight to the comments from Daniel Ek about Spotify being a platform for “content creators” not musicians. If more and more AI “bands” and “artists” emerge there will no longer be any need for real musicians and songwriters and producers to spend countless hours (and money despite what Daniel Ek thinks) honing and developing their crafts to produce something that means something to them and other people. Instead albums can be manufactured in minutes for millions of consumers to have on in the background, occasionally punctuated by adverts and announcements, all of which generate money that can be plowed into more AI fuelled products - whether that be more “music”, applications or war machines!

This is not the end though…

While I have removed all of my music from Spotify I am keeping my music on most of the other music platforms, including more artist friendly platforms such as Apple, YouTube and Deezer. You can also stream and download some of my newer music directly from this website and my Bandcamp page (and over time I intend to upload all of my music to this website).

I appreciate that even some of these other sites may also not be perfect and I will be keeping a closer eye on all platforms from now on to make sure that they are in line with my own views.

For those of you that have previously listened to my music on Spotify then thank you for listening - it is very much appreciated and this decision has not been taken lightly. If you’re reading this though I would encourage you to look at some of the alternative music platforms out there and consciously make the switch - the more people that leave Spotify (whether as musicians and/or subscribers) the louder our voices will be heard about both paying artists fairly and not supporting the funding of war. Ultimately it is each person’s individual decision though.

At the start of this blog I highlighted the general feeling amongst many artists that, by not having their music on Spotify (and other streaming platforms), they would not get heard. Honestly, I don’t know whether that will be the case or not. I’m hopeful that it isn’t the case, choosing to believe that the people who are passionate about music (and specifically my music, as I am of others) will find me one way or another. 

Whether people choose to remain on Spotify though I would ask that if there are bands and artists that move you and that you are passionate about (and this also applies to anyone who makes any type of art), that you support them as much as you are able. That may be by liking or commenting or sharing their social media posts. It might be telling your friends and family about them and encouraging others to follow. It might be streaming or downloading their music, visiting their websites and subscribing to their mailing lists. It might be buying a physical copy of their music, or a painting, or a book or something they made. Or going out to gigs and buying merch and tickets and a whole world of other things.

Let’s keep music alive - in every sense of the word!