CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (July 11, 2025) — If you’re a daily music consumer, chances are you subscribe to at least one online streaming service. Spotify has long led the pack in subscribers and global reach, with Apple Music its closest competitor.

For musicians hoping to get their music heard, Spotify seems like the ultimate platform. Yet, many local bands and artists are pulling their music from this popular service. The reasons vary, but much of the current exodus stems from recent news regarding Spotify’s relationship with Artificial Intelligence (AI), both in music creation and in warfare.

Music without soul

One significant factor is the rapid rise of AI “bands” like the Velvet Sundown. With AI-generated band photos and biographies, this artificial entity has been releasing AI-generated “wallpaper music” that emulates the sounds and feel of artists like Skinshape, Khruangbin and Michael Kiwanuka. This AI band amassed more than a million listeners earlier this month and has been integrated into countless playlists. While this may seem harmless, the implications for the future of digital music consumption are profound.

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“Unlike companies like Pandora and Deezer, which are actively working to filter out AI-generated tracks and combat stream manipulation, Spotify appears to have built this into their business model,” explained a senior music analyst at another streaming service who wishes to remain anonymous.

“Their likely strategy seems clear to me: If they can generate music in-house using AI, they can drastically cut costs by avoiding payments to human artists. They’re betting that most listeners either can’t tell the difference or simply don’t care if the music they’re hearing was created by a machine.”

If this speculation holds true, the already saturated world of online music on Spotify could expand to unimaginable volumes. The human-generated portion would likely be dwarfed by the sheer magnitude of bot music.

Independent musicians already face immense challenges navigating Spotify’s complex features and tools to gain visibility. Competing for attention in such a dystopian hellscape would become nearly impossible.

Many artists see this battle between human creativity and AI as unwinnable, given AI’s inherent homefield advantage in the digital media landscape.

Crossing a moral line

The other recent development driving artists away from Spotify is last month’s revelation that CEO Daniel Ek has invested $694 million into Helsing, a Munich-based defense company specializing in AI-powered military weapons. This news has prompted both artists and consumers to sever ties with the streaming giant.

On June 30, San Francisco-based noise punk band Deerhoof responded by pulling their music from the service. In an Instagram post, they stated: “We don’t want our music killing people. We don’t want our success tied to AI battle tech.”

The post also predicted that “eventually artists will want to leave this already widely hated data-mining scam masquerading as a ‘music company.’ It’s creepy for users and crappy for artists.”

While perhaps not as impactful as Neil Young’s withdrawal in 2022, Deerhoof, a band active since 1994 with more than 100,000 Spotify listeners, has sent a clear message that resonates with newer bands in the underground music scene.

San Jose punk band Fire Drill is one of many local groups who recently announced their departure from Spotify. “The deciding factor for us was the decision by their CEO to invest in AI military drones,” shared singer Scott Remmers.

He acknowledged Spotify’s past usefulness but emphasized that “it came down to the message of a lot of our songs vs. policies of the company; we couldn’t in good conscience continue to support a platform that goes against many of our beliefs.”

Oakland-based indie rock band CVCC, who removed their music from Spotify a while back due to Ek’s controversial views on creativity (in short: glorifying AI and belittling artists), believes this latest development should be the final push for musicians still on the fence. “(The Helsing investment) should be the nail in the coffin for musicians. I mean, have a little self-respect. That playlist ain’t going to launch you, but that AI drone will surely launch some innocent children in the air.”

Remmers hopes his peers in the underground music scene will seriously reevaluate their relationship with Spotify, suggesting: “Bands should take a hard look at their own moral compass and then decide whether it aligns with those of the company. Whatever that decision may be, lead by example.”

The music of all the aforementioned artists can be found on BandCamp, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, YouTube Music and elsewhere.

Contact Dave Hughes at MrDaveHughes@gmail.com.