Uninstall Spotify • Boycott Spotify
From Pirated MP3s to AI War: The Rise of Daniel Ek and Spotify’s Dark Side
Most people see Spotify as just music—your playlist, your road trip, your daily background. But behind the app is a history of piracy roots, low pay for artists, and Daniel Ek earning billions that now flow into AI weapons.
🎧 Spotify Started With Piracy (2006–2008)
- 2006 – Daniel Ek was 23 when he co-founded Spotify in Sweden with Martin Lorentzon.
- He grew up in the piracy generation, also downloading MP3s illegally.
- His idea: “You can’t stop piracy. Make something easier than piracy.”
- 2008 – Spotify launched. Users no longer owned music—once you stop paying, everything is gone.
🎵 One Stream, Almost No Pay
- Artists earn around €0.003 ($0.0032 / ₱0.18) per stream, far lower than Apple Music.
- 2024 – Spotify set a 1,000-stream rule: songs under 1K plays in a year earn nothing.
- 2019 – Ek claimed making music now costs “close to zero,” ignoring real expenses like instruments, software, and studio time.
- 2023–2025 – Spotify playlists were filled with simple tracks under fake names and later AI-generated songs, paying less to real musicians.
⚠ Scandals and Issues
- Spotify once tried to access user photos and contacts for playlists and social features, raising privacy concerns until it scaled back.
- 2022 – Spotify refused to drop Joe Rogan after COVID-19 misinformation, even as artists like Neil Young left in protest.
- 2023 – Spotify cut 1,500 jobs while Ek sold shares and made millions.
- 2025 – UK age-check rule: users had to provide facial scans or IDs for explicit content, sparking privacy backlash and VPN use.
- Ek sold $340M (₱18.8B) worth of Spotify stock, while artists still struggle.
💣 From Music Money to Military Tech
- 2025 – Ek invested €600M (~$693M / ₱38B) into Helsing, an AI military company where he is Chairman.
- Helsing builds AI-powered defense systems.
🎶 Indie Exodus from Spotify (2025)
A growing wave of indie artists are leaving Spotify over Ek’s investment in military AI.
- Deerhoof said: “We don’t want our music killing people.”
- Xiu Xiu called Spotify a “garbage hole violent armageddon portal.”
- King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard shouted “Fuck Spotify” and pulled their entire catalog.
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor also removed their music from streaming platforms, including Spotify.
- Hotline TNT joined the boycott in August 2025.
- Other artists and labels like Kalahari Oyster Cult, David Bridie, Leah Senior, Skee Mask, and Charlie Waldren (Poolroom) pulled their tracks too.
- The group UMAW called Ek’s move “warmongering.”
🎧 The Money Trail
Your playlist → Spotify profit → Daniel Ek → AI weapons.
Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times, Forbes, Billboard, Music Business Worldwide, TechCrunch, BBC, NY Times, The Guardian, Pitchfork, The Fader, SF Chronicle, News.com.au, Indian Express.
Note: This article only connects public facts. The picture is yours to see.
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