{"id":1299756,"date":"2025-09-04T07:41:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T02:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1299756"},"modified":"2025-09-04T09:59:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T04:29:05","slug":"artists-start-leaving-spotify-after-rs-6000-crore-investment-in-ai-defence-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/artists-start-leaving-spotify-after-rs-6000-crore-investment-in-ai-defence-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Artists Start Leaving Spotify After Rs 6000 Crore Investment In AI Defence Company"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Several musicians are once again pulling their catalogues from Spotify, sparking debate about the platform\u2019s ethics and business practices. Bands like <strong>King Gizzard &amp; the Lizard Wizard, Deerhoof, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Xiu Xiu, and David Bridie<\/strong> have announced they will no longer release music on the streaming giant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-32-1280x720-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Artists Start Leaving Spotify After \u20ac600 Million Investment In AI Defence Company\" class=\"wp-image-1299760\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-32-1280x720-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-32-1280x720-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-32-1280x720-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-32-1280x720-1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Trigger: Spotify CEO\u2019s AI Investment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The controversy centers on Spotify CEO <strong>Daniel Ek\u2019s \u20ac600 million investment<\/strong> through his venture firm Prima Materia into <strong>Helsing, a German AI defence company<\/strong> valued at $12 billion. The firm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.financialexpress.com\/life\/entertainment-from-streaming-monopoly-to-ai-generated-music-heres-why-artists-are-leaving-spotify-3962771\/\">develops<\/a> drone and AI-powered weapon systems. While Ek defended the move as vital for Europe\u2019s security amid geopolitical crises, critics argue it clashes with the principles of music, art, and peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Artists Speak Out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The backlash has been loud and clear. Australian musician <strong>David Bridie<\/strong> condemned the decision, noting that some of his songs were written with survivors of war, and he refused to let them enrich \u201cpeople who fund weapons.\u201d<br>California-based band <strong>Xiu Xiu<\/strong> went further, calling Spotify a <em>\u201cgarbage hole Armageddon portal.\u201d<\/em> Experimental group <strong>Deerhoof<\/strong> issued a statement saying they \u201cdon\u2019t want our music killing people\u201d or tied to \u201cAI battle tech.\u201d Meanwhile, independent label <strong>Kalahari Cult Music<\/strong> rejected being part of a platform led by someone backing \u201cwar, surveillance, and violence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Spotify\u2019s Troubled Track Record<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not the first controversy for Spotify. The platform has long faced criticism over <strong>low artist royalties, market monopoly, and promoting AI-generated music<\/strong>. In 2022, <strong>Neil Young<\/strong> removed his music, protesting Spotify\u2019s association with Joe Rogan, who was accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation. These repeated flashpoints underline ongoing tensions between artists and the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What This Means For The Music Industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest boycott underscores growing frustration among artists about where streaming revenue flows and how platforms align themselves with global issues. While Spotify remains dominant with over <strong>600 million users worldwide<\/strong>, persistent artist backlash could fuel demand for <strong>alternative platforms that promise fair royalties and ethical alignment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several musicians are once again pulling their catalogues from Spotify, sparking debate about the platform\u2019s ethics and business practices. Bands like King Gizzard &amp; the Lizard Wizard, Deerhoof, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Xiu Xiu, and David Bridie have announced they will no longer release music on the streaming giant. The Trigger: Spotify CEO\u2019s AI Investment [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1299760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1299756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Artists Start Leaving Spotify After Rs 6000 Crore Investment In AI Defence Company - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/artists-start-leaving-spotify-after-rs-6000-crore-investment-in-ai-defence-company\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Artists Start Leaving Spotify After Rs 6000 Crore Investment In AI Defence Company - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Several musicians are once again pulling their catalogues from Spotify, sparking debate about the platform\u2019s ethics and business practices. Bands like King Gizzard &amp; the Lizard Wizard, Deerhoof, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Xiu Xiu, and David Bridie have announced they will no longer release music on the streaming giant. The Trigger: Spotify CEO\u2019s AI Investment [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/artists-start-leaving-spotify-after-rs-6000-crore-investment-in-ai-defence-company\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-04T02:11:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-04T04:29:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-32-1280x720-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/artists-start-leaving-spotify-after-rs-6000-crore-investment-in-ai-defence-company\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/artists-start-leaving-spotify-after-rs-6000-crore-investment-in-ai-defence-company\/\",\"name\":\"Artists Start Leaving Spotify After Rs 6000 Crore Investment In AI Defence Company - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; 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