why our debut album isn't on Spotify

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Jul 31, 2025

Bottom line is I believe that any company which makes its fortunes off the work of musicians should make significant returns to the music ecosystem. That goes for their CEOs as well. Spotify and Ek are not investing in the wellbeing of the artists that power their platform.

List of reasons to break up with Spotify:

Investment in military tech in 2021 ($114 million) and again in 2025 ($600 million).
One of the lowest artist payouts among all the streaming giants.
1. This is made worse by their decision to demonetize tracks with less than 1000 annual streams.
2. This is also made worse by their ‘payola-like’ scheme Discovery Mode.
3. On top of this, Spotify objected the ruling which was set to increase streaming payouts to songwriters in the US by 44%.
4. And recently they reclassified their Premium Plan as an audiobook ‘bundle’ in an attempt to reduce songwriter payments.
The ‘pro rata’ model benefits the streaming service at the expense of the artists. It “disproportionately privileges top artists and labels, and leaves little chance for even midsize artists…”
The audio quality is garbage.
Spotify doesn’t take responsibility for being the exclusive publisher of misinformation.
Spotify has long been stacking its playlists with “ghosts” to reduce its payout to artists as an internal cost saving program.
1. This is made worse by the rise of AI slop music.

To the last point I cannot support the idea that music is passive. That music is unoffensive. That music is meant to soundtrack every boring moment of your life. The streaming model has devalued the art of music by prioritizing their profit margin and allowing stock music to fill our playlists and ear space.

“A model in which the imperative is simply to keep listeners around, whether they’re paying attention or not, distorts our very understanding of music’s purpose.” —Liz Pelly

You can check out our album here

Spotify is not the future of music. Spotify does not care about music. The unfortunate truth is that my career could suffer for making the decision to keep our debut album off Spotify. But only in the short term. And what kind of career do I want for myself? I’m making this decision as a step in the right direction. I refuse to hand over my art to a system that doesn’t allocate resources to the betterment of the product. A system that waters down music into a safe soup for everyone to eat.

"One-size-fits-all is a very crude, barbaric approach to music, —And actually, the internet and music might be a whole bunch more exciting if artists were given the tools to make the experience of consuming their work as unique as, arguably, the work is in itself." —Mat Dryhurst

Yes, I still have singles available on Spotify. At the moment these songs are for visibility to the many promoters, venues, labels, radio stations, etc that still operate fully on Spotify. I’m not entirely sure how important this is. I guess I’ll find out. (Does it make my stance half-assed? Hmm…) And yes, my full catalog is still available on the other streaming giants – Apple, Tidal, Amazon, etc. I understand that they are as nasty and nefarious as Spotify in many ways. Baby steps I like to think. I don’t doubt that by the time my next album is ready the landscape will have changed significantly. There is a good chance I’ll remove my music from them all. Perhaps sooner than later.

What have we lost by gaining nearly the entire history of all recorded music for a small annual fee? I created my Spotify account in 2011. For nearly 10 years I spent countless hours crafting playlists, shuffling albums, and discovering thousands of songs. I admit, it was bliss. Not to mention the perfect transition from the sugar rush of Limewire where I felt like I had no limits – however now with Spotify it was legal. Somehow it is legal?!

Then in early 2021 I got fed up and deleted my Spotify account and transitioned to Tidal. I stayed there for a while, then to Deezer, then to Apple Music, then to Soundcloud. I’ve thought about moving over to Qobuz, but the reality is that the streaming model is not it.

“I love that people are looking for alternatives to Spotify and I don’t know how to explain to them that it has never been ethical or sustainable to expect to have unfettered access to the entire history of recorded music for $10/month.” —Ross Grady

And 6 months ago I stopped using streaming sites completely. As a music consumer my listening habits and relationship to music changed a lot. The reality is I listen to less music now. But I purchase more. I use Bandcamp, local radio (love u Radio Active), and CDs/Vinyl. Often times I get the disappointing, but brilliant message from Bandcamp which says, “The time has come to open thy heart/wallet.” And it works. I want to listen, so I open thine heart/wallet.

I listen to the same albums and songs over and over again. There is a wonderful transformation that can happen with a full-length album when you listen in different contexts across the span of weeks, months, years. Beautiful moments arise; a lyric you’ve never clocked somehow appears to describe the moment in front of you, a jangly guitar riff suddenly seems front and center, a perfect background vocal carries you away. I’m getting back to listening like I did when I first fell in love with music – with a fiery passion. I was a glutton on Spotify and now I’m becoming a connoisseur.

“[Spotify is] probably the worst thing that has happened to musicians” —Bjork

I never thought I’d say this… but shout-out to Taylor Swift. In 2012 Swift withheld her album, Red, from Spotify’s service. This was the first time my 17-year-old self stopped to question Spotify’s economic model. Then, in 2014 she abruptly removed her entire catalog from the streaming platform in protest of their free tier.

“Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable. Valuable things should be paid for.” —Taylor Swift

It didn’t exactly hurt her sales, and Swift’s music was still very much available online via sites like Youtube. She has since returned her entire catalog to the platform and no doubt scoops up the largest piece of the pie. Spotify’s 'streamshare' model values her art a lot more than the rest of us. Although imagine if more megastars publicly took a stance. It’s unlikely but not impossible. I’m happy to see the likes of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, Fiver, and dance label Kalahari Oyster Cult removing their music and taking a stand. And to all the artist that protested Spotify’s willingness to spread misinformation back in 2022; Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren, etc…

The facts keep stacking up and it’s time to imagine an alternative. It’s hard to walk away from free music, but as I continue working and creating as an independent artist the streaming model shows more and more cracks. And I’m fed up. What is the point of giving up my music to a company that values it at ZERO dollars.

Speaking of imagining an alternative, there are a few starting to emerge and I think it’s important to take notice. Although it’s not an easy road, as we can see from the short-lived artist owned platform, Ampled.

Other beacons of hope:

Canada is mandating a ‘streaming tax’ which would return 5% of streaming revenue into a fund for Canadian content. From Billboard: “The mandated contributions would go to music funds like FACTOR and Musicaction as well as the Canadian Starmaker Fund, to funds to support commercial and community radio, and to the Indigenous Music Office and other Indigenous music incubators.” The tax is currently on pause as the major streaming giants fight the decision in court.

France implemented a 1.2% tax on streaming services operating in the country. The funds support, CNM, quasi-governmental organization supporting various French music initiatives. This tax has faced backlash from the major streaming giants.

In the US, United Workers and Allied Musicians alongside Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Jamaal Bowman have presented The Living Wage For Musicians Act. This act would create a new royalty stream pay directly to the artists.

The European Parliament is calling for EU rules to ensure the music streaming sector is fair and sustainable, and to promote cultural diversity.

Thanks to More Perfect Union and Liz Pelly for this fantastic video which brought the above points to my attention.

Btw no judgement to artists that choose to leave their music on Spotify (or don’t have a choice). It’s hard out there and we all have to decide what’s right for us in each moment. After all it’s not the artist’s fault that this system is so fucked.

Let me know what you think of Spotify. And let me know what you think of our album: