Adobe Stock
Audio By Carbonatix
If Spotify is on Santa’s radar, it’s likely to be fighting its way off the naughty list.
With long-running disputes over minimal artist pay, the music streaming giant has already lost its position as the favorite platform of musicians. Now, the Spotify Unwrapped movement is fueling that fight even further.
On Dec. 3, Spotify released its annual Wrapped list of listeners’ favorite songs, podcasts and audiobooks. Wrapped provides an AI-generated list of stats in the form of a postable, personal virtual trading card.
However, recently, a blizzard of complaints fell on the streamer and across social media when ads by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aired on the platform. Yet, when faced with demands to remove the ads, leaders from the streaming app stood frozen in place, peeping out from behind the shadow of its advertising policies. Spotify is not the only platform that has aired these ads, but it does starkly stand out for its defense in the ad’s continuation.
This year, make your gift count –
Invest in local news that matters.
Our work is funded by readers like you who make voluntary gifts because they value our work and want to see it continue. Make a contribution today to help us reach our $30,000 goal!
The Observer was unable to reach Spotify for comment, but a U.S. spokesperson for the streamer told The Guardian recently that the ads do not violate the company’s advertising policies. Publicly, Spotify’s only suggestion for avoiding these ads is to recommend that listeners use the thumbs-down feature in an effort to train the algorithm.
A grassroots organization called Indivisible, along with other organizations such as Working Families Party and 50501 Movement, banded together to reinforce the unspoken theme that music is supposed to inspire without borders and entertain in meaningful and enriching ways that connect people. Many feel that the airing of these ads directly contradicts these ideas.
Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, said in a statement, “Spotify only works because of us. Now it’s on all of us to force accountability.”
Spotify’s outgoing CEO, Daniel Ek, has not escaped backlash himself due to his controversial comments about the “net-zero cost” of content creation and his ties to military defense companies. Ek will transition out of the position on January 1 of next year to become the executive chairman of Helsing, a European-based AI military defense company. He will be replaced by co-CEOs Gustav Soderstrom and Alex Nordstrom.
The rebuttal to Spotify’s stance against the chorus of the public outcry is Spotify Unwrapped, a movement that calls for users to ditch the service. Some artists have shown support by pulling their music off the streaming app altogether, including Massive Attack and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
While there is power in taking away, there is also power in giving, as far as Spotify Unwrapped sees things. The movement is making GIFs available to users to post instead of their traditional Spotify stats. The provided images include jabs at the ICE ads in question. A recap featuring Tyler, The Creator, for example, reads “You tapped into Tyler’s genius as your most-streamed artist. Spotify tapped into I.C.E. propaganda. One of these is art. One is harmful.”
“Spotify Wrapped is supposed to celebrate community, culture, and creativity,” said Nelini Stamp, Director of Strategy for the Working Families Party, in a statement. “Art should liberate, not legitimize harm.” Stamp continued, “I want people to be able to enjoy what makes their hearts happy. ICE ads don’t do that.”
The WFP does not support censorship, however, these ads are paid for by American tax dollars, in other words, it is government-sponsored propaganda targeting specific communities. She added, “Music should be for all, not just for the few.”
If these are the qualities you align with, the Spotify Unwrapped website has plenty of gifs to post showing support for the movement, artists and all communities. Spotify Unwrapped asks you to use your own platform to promote and support by downloading, posting and cancelling Spotify until their policies match the will of the people and support artists on other platforms that align with your values instead of your cashflow.
