Spotify, the largest streaming music service in the world, has been in hot water with both musicians and listeners over numerous issues the past couple of years. At the D.C. No Kings rally, Ezra Levin (Indivisible co-founder) called out Spotify CEO Daniel Ek for robbing musicians and running ICE recruitment ads. These ICE ads aren't your basic recruitment ad. They politicize and demonize immigrants and the ads are paid for by our tax-payer dollars. It is long past time to stop feeding Daniel Ek's bank account. If we all pull together we can have the same impact we had on Disney/ABC.
Indivisible has now specifically called on all of us to boycott Spotify:
https://indivisible.org/cancel-spotify
indivisible.org/statements/indivisible-announces-campaign-cancel-spotify-streaming-services-over-ice-recruitment
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Learn more about the multitude of reasons why some artists have already pulled their music and why consumers are boycotting Spotify in the articles below:
Indivisible has now specifically called on all of us to boycott Spotify:
https://indivisible.org/cancel-spotify
indivisible.org/statements/indivisible-announces-campaign-cancel-spotify-streaming-services-over-ice-recruitment
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
- DELETE the Spotify app from all of your devices
- If you have a paid subscription CANCEL it today
- https://support.spotify.com/us/article/cancel-premium/
- If you are billed through Apple or Google, cancel via their app store settings.
- Ask your friends and family to cancel Spotify
- Ask your favorite musicians and pod-casters to move their content off of Spotify
- Check out our "The Ethics of Musical Streaming" post below for alternatives and more
Learn more about the multitude of reasons why some artists have already pulled their music and why consumers are boycotting Spotify in the articles below:
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/users-vow-to-boycott-spotify-after-streamer-runs-ice-recruitment-ad/ar-AA1Ot7Pt
- https://aimagazine.com/news/why-high-profile-musicians-are-starting-to-boycott-spotify
- https://www.npr.org/2025/09/09/nx-s1-5522297/musicians-leaving-spotify-protest-hotline-tnt-king-gizzard-and-the-lizard-wizard
The Ethics of Digital Music Streaming
We now live in an age where every purchase choice we make is also a choice to defend democracy or support authoritarianism. Corporate entities and their CEOs are funding the Trump administration or acquiescing to his undemocratic demands every day. Trump, aided by the Republican Congressional majority, continues to ignore Congress, the courts, the Constitution, and the protests of everyday Americans.
Our situation may seem hopeless. What can we do?
Money talks like nothing else in this country. Corporations are acutely sensitive to losing any profits and raising the ire of their boards and shareholders. This fact gives each and every one of us a tool that most never consider: boycotting.
The recent Jimmy Kimmel suspension and his subsequent reinstatement by Disney+/ABC after a worldwide backlash illustrates just how powerful we can be. Cancellation rates for Disney+/Hulu doubled as a result of this debacle and resulted in the loss of about 3 million subscribers. (1)
While there are many companies to boycott, from Amazon and Walmart to Meta and Google, one you might not have considered is: Spotify.
Spotify is on our boycott radar for a whole host of reasons, including its poor compensation of artists, alleged promotion of "fake artists" to lower royalty payments, and founder Daniel Ek's involvement in AI weaponry development.
Recently, a more egregious development has appeared on a number of streaming platforms like Spotify: a large amount of recruitment ads for the Department of Homeland Security. Streaming users report that the ICE ads are "offensive" and "awful" and "racially and culturally profile users." (2)
We encourage you to write and complain to any streaming services that you use that are running these ads and, more specifically, to boycott Spotify.
Not sure where to turn to for your music? Check out the list below. Note: You will not find Amazon Music, Apple Music, YouTube Music, or Tidal on this list for a variety of ethical reasons.
Qobuz: a French owned streaming platform that better compensates artists. Has a massive catalog including all major labels.
https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/discover
Even: focuses on independent artists and labels; artists set their own prices.
https://get.even.biz/
Presto Music: Good for classical and jazz
https://www.prestomusic.com/
Idagio: Excellent for classical music
https://www.idagio.com/
Streaming options in the works that look to be coming to market in 2026:
Subvert: Will be cooperatively owned.
https://subvert.fm/
The Flow: Will be content creator owned.
https://www.theflow.com/ - this will be content creator owned
For more information about ethical music streaming services, check out this article:
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/technology/shopping-guide/music-streaming
You may not have thought about it but music streaming has a significant carbon footprint. Although vinyl and CDs do as well, buying used and shopping locally can help mitigate it. Check out these local Tucson shops:
Bookman's: https://bookmans.com/
Humane Society of Southern Arizona Thrift Shop: https://hssaz.org/locations/hssa-thrift-store/
Zia Records: https://www.ziarecords.com/
Desert Island Records: https://desertislandrecords.com/
Hurricane Records: https://fourthavenue.org/listings/hurricane-records/
Old Paint Records: https://old-paint-records.square.site/
References
Disney+ and Hulu cancellation rates doubled after Kimmel suspension
by Adrian Horton, The Guardian, Mon 20 Oct 2025
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/oct/20/disney-hulu-cancelled-subscriptions-jimmy-kimmel-suspension
We now live in an age where every purchase choice we make is also a choice to defend democracy or support authoritarianism. Corporate entities and their CEOs are funding the Trump administration or acquiescing to his undemocratic demands every day. Trump, aided by the Republican Congressional majority, continues to ignore Congress, the courts, the Constitution, and the protests of everyday Americans.
Our situation may seem hopeless. What can we do?
Money talks like nothing else in this country. Corporations are acutely sensitive to losing any profits and raising the ire of their boards and shareholders. This fact gives each and every one of us a tool that most never consider: boycotting.
The recent Jimmy Kimmel suspension and his subsequent reinstatement by Disney+/ABC after a worldwide backlash illustrates just how powerful we can be. Cancellation rates for Disney+/Hulu doubled as a result of this debacle and resulted in the loss of about 3 million subscribers. (1)
While there are many companies to boycott, from Amazon and Walmart to Meta and Google, one you might not have considered is: Spotify.
Spotify is on our boycott radar for a whole host of reasons, including its poor compensation of artists, alleged promotion of "fake artists" to lower royalty payments, and founder Daniel Ek's involvement in AI weaponry development.
Recently, a more egregious development has appeared on a number of streaming platforms like Spotify: a large amount of recruitment ads for the Department of Homeland Security. Streaming users report that the ICE ads are "offensive" and "awful" and "racially and culturally profile users." (2)
We encourage you to write and complain to any streaming services that you use that are running these ads and, more specifically, to boycott Spotify.
Not sure where to turn to for your music? Check out the list below. Note: You will not find Amazon Music, Apple Music, YouTube Music, or Tidal on this list for a variety of ethical reasons.
Qobuz: a French owned streaming platform that better compensates artists. Has a massive catalog including all major labels.
https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/discover
Even: focuses on independent artists and labels; artists set their own prices.
https://get.even.biz/
Presto Music: Good for classical and jazz
https://www.prestomusic.com/
Idagio: Excellent for classical music
https://www.idagio.com/
Streaming options in the works that look to be coming to market in 2026:
Subvert: Will be cooperatively owned.
https://subvert.fm/
The Flow: Will be content creator owned.
https://www.theflow.com/ - this will be content creator owned
For more information about ethical music streaming services, check out this article:
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/technology/shopping-guide/music-streaming
You may not have thought about it but music streaming has a significant carbon footprint. Although vinyl and CDs do as well, buying used and shopping locally can help mitigate it. Check out these local Tucson shops:
Bookman's: https://bookmans.com/
Humane Society of Southern Arizona Thrift Shop: https://hssaz.org/locations/hssa-thrift-store/
Zia Records: https://www.ziarecords.com/
Desert Island Records: https://desertislandrecords.com/
Hurricane Records: https://fourthavenue.org/listings/hurricane-records/
Old Paint Records: https://old-paint-records.square.site/
References
Disney+ and Hulu cancellation rates doubled after Kimmel suspension
by Adrian Horton, The Guardian, Mon 20 Oct 2025
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/oct/20/disney-hulu-cancelled-subscriptions-jimmy-kimmel-suspension
WHAT ABOUT TIDAL?
Tidal is an alternative that some people may consider using over Spotify. Before you leap, here are some things to consider:
Ethical Consumer gives Tidal only a 20 out of 100 rating for their compensation to artists in their article on music streaming and they say the following:
"TIDAL, once pitched as an artist-first disruptor, appears to be drifting towards the mainstream. Its promises of radical redistribution largely evaporated when TIDAL ditched its “Direct Artist Payouts”’ scheme in 2023 and, since a 2021 acquisition by Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc, the company’s strategic direction appears focused less on music than on crypto ventures. A 2024 shareholder letter stated: “We are scaling back our investment in TIDAL [...] giving us more room to invest in our bitcoin mining initiative”
CEO Jack Dorsey formerly ran Twitter in the pre-Musk halcyon days. This particular tech oligarch’s drift into cryptocurrency is at least less malevolent than Daniel Ek of Spotify’s pivot towards AI weaponry, so perhaps we should be grateful for that?"
TIDAL’s owner, Block Inc., only paid its CEO Jack Dorsey $2.75 in 2024. A sign of a radical wealth redistributive ethos at the company? No, its highest paid director came home with $16.5m in the same year.
And there's also this: Jack Dorsey’s Block plans more layoffs just days after cuts at Tidal
Tidal is an alternative that some people may consider using over Spotify. Before you leap, here are some things to consider:
Ethical Consumer gives Tidal only a 20 out of 100 rating for their compensation to artists in their article on music streaming and they say the following:
"TIDAL, once pitched as an artist-first disruptor, appears to be drifting towards the mainstream. Its promises of radical redistribution largely evaporated when TIDAL ditched its “Direct Artist Payouts”’ scheme in 2023 and, since a 2021 acquisition by Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc, the company’s strategic direction appears focused less on music than on crypto ventures. A 2024 shareholder letter stated: “We are scaling back our investment in TIDAL [...] giving us more room to invest in our bitcoin mining initiative”
CEO Jack Dorsey formerly ran Twitter in the pre-Musk halcyon days. This particular tech oligarch’s drift into cryptocurrency is at least less malevolent than Daniel Ek of Spotify’s pivot towards AI weaponry, so perhaps we should be grateful for that?"
TIDAL’s owner, Block Inc., only paid its CEO Jack Dorsey $2.75 in 2024. A sign of a radical wealth redistributive ethos at the company? No, its highest paid director came home with $16.5m in the same year.
And there's also this: Jack Dorsey’s Block plans more layoffs just days after cuts at Tidal
