By Colin 
Spotify’s billionaire CEO has shown exactly where his priorities sit. Earlier this month, Daniel Ek led a €600 million funding round for the Berlin defence company Helsing. The start-up builds artificial-intelligence systems for drones, submarines and battlefield targeting. At the same time, UK artists still receive less than a penny per play, with each Spotify stream paying roughly £0.0025. That gulf reveals how a platform fuelled by music now funnels the rewards into warfare technology instead of creative livelihoods.
Helsing’s software is not experimental. European militaries already deploy its tools to blend live data from aircraft, satellites and ground vehicles, allowing commanders to identify and strike targets at speed. Ek’s investment will expand those programmes even faster. Meanwhile, Spotify has introduced a rule that strips royalties from tracks played fewer than 1,000 times a year, a policy confirmed by Music Business Worldwide. Small artists now see their modest earnings vanish while their work helps bankroll autonomous weapons.
Spotify still markets itself as an ally of creators. Yet its recent actions tell a different story. Rather than improving pay or building support schemes, the company is diverting income toward private defence deals and political donations.
Anger grows across the UK music community
Independent musicians have reacted quickly. Amsterdam label Kalahari Oyster Cult announced it will remove its entire catalogue from Spotify on 1 July 2025, stating it refuses to let its music “benefit a platform led by someone backing tools of war, surveillance and violence”.
Closer to home, UK rapper and TikTok creator Ice Man Mir told his 400,000 followers, “He just took $690 million and put it into this AI-drone company that’s literally going to make military warfare… I’m cancelling my subscription.” He closed with the hashtag #BoycottSpotify.
Furthermore, other artists now swap Spotify links for direct downloads, delay new releases and encourage fans to stream less and support more. Remaining on the platform feels increasingly impossible if doing so helps fund military projects.
Listeners begin to make choices
Spotify’s political spending has deepened the divide. On 19 January 2025 the company gave $150,000 (about £118,000) to Donald Trump’s Presidential Inauguration Committee and hosted a private brunch. Although Spotify framed the donation as routine corporate engagement, many UK musicians and their audiences view it as another sign that the company’s values clash with their own.
Consequently, listeners are migrating to alternatives. Sales on Bandcamp send roughly 82 percent of each pound directly to artists. Co-operative service Resonate lets fans pay per play while artists keep full control of their catalogues. In addition, livestream donations or merchandise sales often outstrip months of Spotify income. Because these options feel transparent and fair, many fans see little reason to stay with a service that channels revenue into AI weapons.
Labels are following suit. Catalogues disappear, subscription screenshots circulate on social media, and posters urging cancellation pop up in gig venues. The boycott no longer sits in theory; it is under way.
Time to decide who benefits from music
Spotify once symbolised effortless discovery and endless choice. Now its leadership prefers spending on military automation instead of ensuring musicians earn a living wage. When most artists juggle rent, travel costs and rehearsal fees, funneling profits to defence tech sends a stark message: culture is expendable.
The UK music scene has survived economic shocks, austerity cuts and touring chaos. Yet it cannot thrive while its value feeds industries that do not serve art. Every cancelled subscription challenges Spotify’s priorities. Every redirected tenner, whether it buys a record, supports a crowdfund or covers a gig ticket, helps rebuild an ecosystem that streaming has eroded.
Music should unite communities, not power surveillance and targeting. If Spotify no longer reflects those values, walking away becomes an act of solidarity. Cancel the subscription. Share ethical alternatives. Spend where it matters most.