More and more people get up against the genocide that Israel is doing against Palestine, and this time it was Massive Attack Those who decided to remove their Spotify catalog. In addition, they asked Universal Music to remove all their catalog in the streaming services of that country. They announced it in a statement:
“Before the (supposed) important investments of the Spotify CEO in a company that produces drones with military ammunition and artificial intelligence technology integrated into combat aircraftMassive Attack has requested separately from our seal that we remove our music from the Spotify streaming service in all territories. In our opinion, the historical precedent of effective artists during the apartheid in South Africa, the war crimes and the genocide that the state of Israel now makes the campaign imperative ‘No Music For Genocide’. In the particular case of Spotify, to the economic burden that for so long has fallen to the artists, a moral and ethical burden is now added, since the money earned with so much effort for fans and the creative effort of the musicians finance, ultimately, lethal and dystopian technologies ”.
The English duo made a comparison with the fall of apartheid in South Africa due to the pressure exerted by boycott and protests worldwide, with what they could do against the Israeli State to stop the war:
“In 1991, the scourge of apartheid violence fell in South Africa, a distance driven by public boycott, protests and the withdrawal of works by artists, musicians and actors. The complicity with that state was considered unacceptable. In 2025, the same applies to Israel’s genocidal state. As of today, there is a musical equivalent to the @Filmworkers4Palestine Recently announced campaign (signed by 4500 filmmakers, actors, industry workers and institutions). It can be found in @nomusicforgenocide and supports the widest demands of the growing movement @bds.movement. We call on all musicians to translate their sadness, anger and artistic contributions in a coherent, reasonable and vital action to end the indescribable hell that is imposed on the Palestinians hour after hour. ”
Spotify and Helsing launch their versions to clarify the participation of drones
After a long time to stay silent, Helsing has launched its statement on the performance of its drones alluding that they are only deployed on European soil and have only served for the war in Ukraine:
“Currently, we are seeing that erroneous information is being disseminated that Helsing technology is being displayed in war areas other than Ukraine. This is not correct. Our technology is deployed in European countries only for dissuasive and defense purposes against Russian aggression in Ukraine”.
For its part, a Spotify spokesman has also made a statement in Instagram’s comments on the band’s publication (according to information from the Concenence portal):
“I want to clarify some things. Spotify and Helsing are two totally independent companies. And although I can’t speak in the name of Helsing, I am aware that they are not involved in Gaza. I know because I had the same questions and asked them. Helsing’s efforts focus on Europe defending themselves in Ukraine. If you want to talk about Spotify and the payment of royalties, we will gladly talk. ”
What participation does Spotify in the war?
Well, the summary history of this conflict with Spotify is that Daniel EK, in addition to being CEO of the streaming platform, is also a strong inverter in Helsing, a German defense technology company that develops AI software designed to improve military weapons and equipment.
In Julio Helsing he announced having raised almost 700 million dollars, with a main investment of EK, through the company Prima Matters that he founded together with Shakil Khan.
This only adds more reasons, such as the poor gain for listening, so that artists want to demarcate from the musical platform, such as King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard or Deerhof, who have already completely removed their catalog. And in Mexico, we have that Rubén Albarrán urged his fans A Run Boicot against Spotify.
It also opens the doubt of how much of this money that could have been assigned to the artists, not only the top, if not the medium and boys to be able to reinvest in their projects, it has been destined for improvements of military technology.
There are more platforms to support artists such as Bandcamp that are much friendlier with artists, Amazon Music with a catalog that asks Spotify anything and with the plus of membership prime or better even, when you can, to buy the official merchandise of the artists.
