Music as a weapon of War?

We all heard about how Spotify is treating musicians on its platform. No decent royalties, and an algorithm that favours successful artists who have a contract with a big label rather than indie musicians. Spotify has capitalised on the music streaming market to the point that it forgot its initial goal: to make music digitally accessible to anyone.

Music over profit?

Not for Daniel EK, who became not only the CEO of Spotify but also the CEO of the German defence tech company Helsing, and invested €600 million in the company to help advance the use of AI in military weaponry and equipment. 

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The decision was so controversial that it has become the most talked-about in the music industry, raising the question of ethics and music. Even so that many are abhorrent about this news and have decided to take a stance against it

Can you guess who it is?

A hint: it is the ones who care about music over profit!

Who is Deerhof, and what kind of music do they make?

I see you can answer the previous question quickly since the answer is the Title. mmm. I will make it harder for you next time. hhh!

Satoru Eguchi/Joyful Noise Recordings

Deerhof is an Art-Rock band that was founded in 1994 in San Francisco, specifically in the Bay Area, featuring these four talented musicians in the picture above:

  • Satomi Matsuzaki (vocals, bass)
  • Greg Saunier (drums)
  • John Dieterich (guitar)
  • Ed Rodriguez (guitar)

Their music is known for its eclectic sound mixed with DIY ethos and political stance throughout their career. But what makes the band so unique is how they combine elements of Punk, noise rock, pop, and avant-garde in a playful and unpredictable way. To add the cherry on top, the band has remained loyal to this day to their artistic independence as they often produce and record their albums themselves.

And in their lyrics, you often find a trace of social justice, anti-capitalism, and environmentalism as main themes, like for example Plastic Thrills (from the album La Isla Bonita, 2014), which is understood as a commentary on superficial modern pleasures and overconsumption.

Deerhof VS. Spotify

Even today, they don’t back off on what they believe in, and as soon as they heard that the CEO of Spotify is investing in an AI military company, they swore that they would remove their entire catalogue from the App.

“We don’t want our music killing people. We don’t want our success being tied to AI battle tech.”

They even announced on their official Instagram account that boycotting Spotify is a logical step to take.

Let me say what a lucky band they are, that even their Label Joyful Noise Recordings supports the band’s decision despite financial loss and prioritising the ethical stance over streaming income. This is a rare support to witness in the music industry.

Though they also emphasised that Spotify royalties make up a small portion of their income, because they earn mainly from touring. That might be the reason why the decision to get out of Spotify was quickly supported by the management Team of the band.

The fans around Reddit and Twitter (sorry, X) are praising Deerhoof for taking a bold stand against the giant streaming app, and many started debating the ethics of Spotify’s leadership.

Now, to my question, will other musicians follow suit? What do you think, dear reader?