They are boycotting investments at their CEO

Spotify has just announced your quarterly financial resultsand arrive with bittersweet news, although not as much as the revolt that is created within their own catalog: some bands They are abandoning the platform After the linking of its CEO with the arms industry has been discovered. A new blow to the image of the platform, powerful and influential as fewbut that does not finish finding the approval of many artists.

The problem. The main conflict is in the link of Daniel EK, founder and CEO of the platform, with the ‘Start Up’ German Helsing, a company specialized in military software based on artificial intelligence that develops a combat drone called HX-2, which can achieve objectives 100 kilometers away. The financial support from EK to Helsing is frontal: Through prima matter, an investment fund that co-created in 2021, EK injected 100 million euros that same year to the war company. To this has joined another 600 last June.

The reaction. This is what has made many groups raise the voice against this investment. Already in 2021, people like Darren Sangita or Skee Maskbut now, after calling for the boycott of the experimental deerhoof and Xiu Xiu, it arrives the abandonment of a couple of independent bands of international fameKing Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Mexicans Café Tacuba. The phenomenon is especially striking because the former are greatly prolific, with 27 albums since 2012. This will make abandonment take time, having to coordinate a good number of stamps and distributors.

Other frightened. King Gizzard and Café Tacuba are the last to leave, but there have been many other groups and soloists who did it before. Neil Young was a notorious casedenouncing that Joe Rogan’s podcast, produced by Spotify, was delivered to the misinformation about COVID-19. He was followed by relevant artists such as Joni Mitchell, James Blunt or Crosby members, Stills and Nash. Even more media was almost Taylor Swift, which In 2014 he eliminated all his platform musicclaiming that the transmission service did not pay enough to the artists. Snoopp Dogg did this year for similar reasons. Practically all the aforementioned artists They have ended up returning to the platform.

An organized rebellion. Especially in alternative environments and more politically committed, certain discomfort with the platform is being developed, which undoubtedly has parallels with the negative of many artists To participate in festivals this summer linked to the Israeli Investment Fund KKR. In the case of Spotify, There are already manifestos that They list alternatives to the platform, and that have more catalog, better prices or, simply, an ethic more in line with the philosophy of the groups or subscribers.

The accounts. All this comes at a key moment for Spotify, which has announced 86 million losses and the announcement of the expansion in 857 million of the Actions repurchase plan (all in contrast to a benefit of 274 million in the same period last year). On the other hand, users continue to grow: assets have risen 11% and ‘Premium’ subscribers, 11.6. Undoubtedly, the most important data is the rise in the business figure, 10% more, reaching 4,193 million.

How are those millionaire losses possible? Spotify blames him for the impact of financial costs associated with staff and marketing. We will have to see if the abandonment of artists, none extremely massive at the moment, ends up affecting their accounts even more.

Image | Xataka – Sampaio Czar in Unspash

In Xataka | An artist published an album with 30 songs of 29 seconds exact each. Its goal: to highlight spotify