Latest news with #DanielEk
Miami Herald
11-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Spotify faces global boycott over CEO's military investments
For many, going a day without music feels unthinkable because it has become a vital part of their lives. Imagine having to power through an intense workout session without your favorite playlist, or commuting to work without the voice of your favorite podcast host to keep you company. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming service for digital music, podcasts, and video that allows users to access a wide range of content worldwide. Since launching in 2008, it has become the most popular music streaming service, with over 678 million users and 268 million paying subscribers. Related: Walmart, Sam's Club makes major donation for Texas flood relief Over the last few months, major ongoing global conflicts have taken over the news, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Palestinian crisis, the civil war in Sudan, and the Israel-Iran tensions, to name a few. With so much chaos worldwide, music has been the only thing keeping people sane, allowing an outlet for those struggling with their emotions during these challenging times. However, a shocking revelation has completely shattered people, putting Spotify at the center of a major controversy. Recently, it was discovered that Spotify's CEO, Daniel Ek, is leading an investment of around $700 million into the European defense tech startup Helsing through his venture capital firm Prima Materia. Founded in 2021, Helsing is a German military tech firm that develops AI-based warfare systems, such as battlefield drone surveillance, cybersecurity tools, aircraft, submarines, and more. Related: Spotify makes huge strategy change that will impact its business This significant investment has prompted a global boycott of Spotify (SPOT) by many users and artists, who view this move as a conflicting action promoting war rather than world peace and unity. "As Europe rapidly strengthens its defence capabilities in response to evolving geopolitical challenges, there is an urgent need for investments in advanced technologies that ensure its strategic autonomy and security readiness," said Ek in a statement. Thanks to its latest investment rounds, Helsing is valued at around $12 billion, which places it among one of Europe's most valuable tech startups. In response, many outraged independent musicians, including Deerhoof, Skee Mask, and Poolroom, have willingly removed their music from the platform to speak out against Ek's support for European military technology. More Business News: T-Mobile makes harsh decision to lock in crucial deal approvalsStarbucks executives to get huge bonus as baristas demand better payCheesecake Factory faces truly disturbing charges Those who oppose the CEO's recent investment, including music critic Anthony Fantano, are asking Spotify to donate to more peaceful causes, such as those that support struggling artists and the music economy. "If you care about music as a cultural necessity…put some of that cash back into the artists, not battle tech," Fantano posted on social media. This move prompted users, especially in the U.S., to use their personal social media platforms to raise awareness of this topic and call for a boycott of Spotify Premium, asking users to cancel their subscriptions. Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Sinar Daily
08-07-2025
- Business
- Sinar Daily
US$650 million Spotify share sale funds 'military AI,' activist slams CEO Ek
SHAH ALAM – Spotify's co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Daniel Ek is significantly increasing his investment in Europe's defence ambitions, leading a nearly US$700 million funding round into Helsing, an Artificial Intelligence-powered military tech start-up, as war escalations and geopolitical tensions fuel investor interest in the global arms race. The investment, led by Ek's venture firm Prima Materia, also drew support from prominent investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, Saab and General Catalyst. This announcement comes at a time when global conflict, from Ukraine to the genocide in Gaza, has pushed military tech into the spotlight. - AFP file photo Helsing, founded in 2021 and operational in Germany, France and the UK, builds AI software to process battlefield data in real-time and recently expanded into drone manufacturing with its HX-2 model. The company states this new capital will be channelled towards strengthening Europe's technological sovereignty, particularly in critical areas like defence AI. "As Europe rapidly strengthens its defence capabilities in response to evolving geopolitical challenges, there is an urgent need for investments in advanced technologies that ensure its strategic autonomy and security readiness,' Ek said in a statement recently. This announcement comes at a time when global conflict, from Ukraine to the genocide in Gaza, has pushed military tech into the spotlight. However, the decision by Spotify's top executive to invest heavily in military AI has also reignited ethical concerns about the intersection of tech, warfare, and capitalism, especially in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza. Filmmaker and activist Sadia Hannan, known on social media as @naleybynature, voiced serious concern over Ek's investment in Helsing, drawing connections between tech funding and the humanitarian crisis in Palestine. "Something really disturbing is happening at Spotify and I want to talk about it. I used to work at Spotify when it was still a small start-up. "It was exciting back then, the platform was creating space for artists around the world. But the way it has grown has been violent and insidious," she said in a video uploaded to her Instagram. Hannan pointed out that Ek has sold nearly US$650 million worth of Spotify shares to fund what she called 'military AI', referring to Helsing. Her criticism extends beyond Ek, citing a UN report by Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese that named several global tech companies, including IBM, Microsoft, Amazon and Palantir, as aiding Israel's military operations in Gaza. 'These tech companies are not just testing their toys on Palestinians. They're killing Palestinians. And what's even worse is that they're profiting off of it. "Military AI is big money. What we allow them to do to Palestinians is ultimately what we allow them to do to us," she said. She also added that Spotify's largest institutional shareholders, BlackRock and Vanguard, are among the biggest global backers of companies profiting from the arms industry, including those supporting Israel's military.
Al Bawaba
07-07-2025
- Business
- Al Bawaba
Why are people boycotting Spotify?
Published July 7th, 2025 - 05:56 GMT ALBAWABA - Popular music streaming service Spotify has stirred controversy and boycott calls over the past couple of days due to a recent investment made by its CEO, Daniel Ek. Things escalated when reports revealed that Ek recently invested $700 million in Helsing, a German AI company that develops software to enhance military and other equipment. His recent transaction sparked outrage on social media, with many human rights activists calling for a boycott while cancelling their subscriptions. According to Middle East Monitor, several artists also urged for a boycott, with some taking their music down from the platform, including American indie-rock band Deerhoof. The band responded to the Eks' investment and said, "We don't want our music killing people." Not only has Spotify been covertly pushing AI artists to 'reduce royalty payments' to real human artists — that extra profit is now being poured into an 'AI military startup' that will profit off bombing babies. You don't hate these people enough. 😡 — James Li (@5149jamesli) June 29, 2025 Moreover, many music content creators, such as Fantano, urged their viewers to do the same, with many of his followers providing Spotify users with alternatives such as Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, and Bandcamp. A few pushed for the purchase of physical media from artists, claiming that it supports them more than what they get from streaming platforms. Indepandant journalist, James Lee took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote, "Not only has Spotify been covertly pushing AI artists to 'reduce royalty payments' to real human artists — that extra profit is now being poured into an 'AI military startup' that will profit off bombing babies." Another wrote, "This is appalling. People should cancel their Spotify subscriptions immediately." © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Secret Netflix code discovers 'riveting' mini-series with 100% rotten tomatoes rating as viewers rave it's a 'must see'
A Netflix mini-series which is discovered with a 'secret code' and it has a 100 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score. Inspired by the non-fiction book Spotify Untold, Netflix's The Playlist has been lauded by fans after Unilad uncovered a new way to find new shows. According to the publication, they found the show through using the 'music genre category' which reportedly changed their algorithm to show a range of new shows. And The Playlist was one of the top shows found with the 'new code' and it has already bagged a perfect score on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatoemeter. The six-episode series follows entrepreneur Daniel Ek (Edvin Endre) and his business partner Martin Lorentzon (Christian Hillborg). It sees Daniel, a Swedish tech entrepreneur, and his partners set out to revolutionize the music industry with a streaming platform. Each episode unfolds from a different perspective, including programmers, lawyers, artists and industry executives, to show how Spotify revolutionized the way we listen to music. And viewers have raved about the show as they said it 'raises pertinent and unsettling questions.' One penned: 'The Playlist starts out like a conventional biopic but culminates with a critical look at the industry.' 'While modernist in its methods, the series smoothly and intelligently weaves its stories into an enlightening whole, forming a vivid impression of life at the heady frontlines of the bloodless digital revolution.' 'The series is limited by its decision to show the most benevolent angle of such a savage industry.' 'The Playlist is near perfect. The mini-series sets the bar high for all biographical dramas to come after it. Particularly because it captures the ills of the tech industry, the joy, the fallout, and the many many people that all go into one success...' 'Tells the story of Spotify from various perspectives... That structure helps slice up a story that doesn't have a ton of conflict.' And The Playlist was one of the top shows found with the 'new code' and it has bagged 100% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatoemeter 'Riveting enough to be a definite binge watcher. Great casting and authentic acting.' 'Great show. It shows different perspectives, one per episode but still goes on in time. Especially the last episode is a nice surprise but I wont spoiler :)' 'The way they showed how the journey of each individual played into the plot was very impressive. A 10/10 absolute binge worthy' The Biography drama was first aired in October, 2022 on Netflix and also bagged a score of 7.4 on IDMb.
The Verge
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Deerhoof did not want its music ‘funding AI battle tech' — so it ditched Spotify
On Monday, the long-running indie rock band Deerhoof made an announcement: it was pulling its music from Spotify. The impetus was Spotify founder Daniel Ek's newest investment in Helsing, the German defense group that makes AI and drones. Helsing raised 600 million euros in its most recent funding round, which was led by Ek's venture capital firm Prima Materia. 'Helsing is benefiting from a surge of investment in defence groups, as a highly charged geopolitical environment spurs nations all over the world to increase military spending and the war in Ukraine triggers a rethink of battlefield technology,' the Financial Times wrote of the investment. Ek characterized the investment as 'doubling down'; he'd previously made Prima Materia's first investment in Helsing. That didn't sit right with the members of Deerhoof, who didn't like Spotify much to begin with. The streaming platform has been criticized by artists for not paying enough, as well as for its practices around 'ghost artists' and Discovery Mode. I called up Greg Saunier, Deerhoof's drummer, to talk about how streaming supports war efforts, how much money the band made from Spotify, and where they drew the moral line. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Let's start with how you made the decision. Your statement reads that you saw that Daniel Ek was using his Spotify money to invest in AI, and you objected to war profiteering. I think that refers to Ek's investment in Helsing. Can you sort of give me a picture of how that decision went after you heard the news? We were in a rented minivan, on tour in the Northeast, and so I think we were just making chitchat in the car. And I was just like, 'Hey, did you guys see that latest headline?' I think it took the four members of Deerhoof maybe all of two minutes to decide. Ed Rodriguez, our guitar player, did a quick look at our Spotify numbers. How much do each of us actually make a year from being on Spotify? As far as direct income, it was something small, like maybe $1,000 a year or something for each of us. 'The band's decision was very easy and quick.' So this is our cue. We've been basically waiting for at least five years for a moment. Everybody already hates Spotify — everyone you talk to, whether they're a musician or whether they're a listener. And so we were hoping that somebody would organize a movement. We'd be the first to sign up. But that wasn't particularly happening. And so just for our own ability to sleep at night, you know — regardless of whether it creates any movement, regardless of whether Spotify themselves care — we just for our own mental health did not want our music, and particularly our music success, to be funding AI battle tech. All of us have seen the results of what AI battle tech does and, you know, AI decision making, AI targeting, facial recognition, AI systems that are developed to go through lists of addresses where suspiciously named people happen to be living, and then will automatically obliterate an apartment building. [What's happening in] Gaza just gives everybody a taste of the future that Daniel Ek is trying to make possible for other regions of the globe as well. So yeah, the band's decision was very easy and quick. There seem to be two strands here. One is objections to Spotify, and the other is objections to AI, and so I'm going to take them separately. How did you first join Spotify? You were around well before the transition to digital music, and I'm sure you remember the Napster era, so I'm curious about how this has affected your careers. I actually don't remember joining it. We were probably on [record label] Polyvinyl at the time, and it was simply one of several ways to stream music. 'Daniel Ek is the type of oligarch — and there are several who are making headlines nowadays — who seems to almost have some psychological compulsion to put his foot in his mouth.' Napster, I think, is related to the history of Spotify. Because, you know, Spotify started in Sweden. And Sweden was also famous at that time for being the main hub for The Pirate Bay. But even downloading music for free, as with Napster, is — downloads are not streams. It's a different way of consuming music. At the time that Napster was happening, people had music collections. That's what I do. I buy MP3s, often from Bandcamp or classical music from iTunes. None of the members of Deerhoof have ever got a Spotify account because none of us like streaming — it never caught on for us. A narrative we can probably all agree is the case in terms of Spotify is that it seemed slightly suspicious when it started. It has utterly snowballed in terms of the amount of hate, the amount of eyerolls, and it's not only that there's been a gradual increase in public awareness of how unfair their payment system is. It's also that Daniel Ek is the type of oligarch — and there are several who are making headlines nowadays — who seems to almost have some psychological compulsion to put his foot in his mouth and make headlines by saying unbelievably stupid things that inspire the ire of musicians and music fans. He's just that type of very obnoxious. Not all billionaires are like that. Some keep their greed hidden behind some kind of secrecy or some kind of sense of decorum. Then you get the Elon Musks and the Daniel Eks and the Donald Trumps, who are more like intentionally, overtly, publicly as cartoonishly evil as possible. We felt in our gut that having our success be funding global annihilation was maybe one step too far. That's too much. We're not doing that. We're not on the side of a billionaire who has that as their objective. It's sort of like they forced us to take a side. We probably would have bumbled along for a while longer, just sort of waiting in the background to see if somebody else made a move. But that was just too much. I cannot stomach that. There's no way in the world I'm going to be saying, 'Hey, everybody, listen to our music!' while at the same time knowing what that would mean. Do you have advice for bands who want to remove their work from Spotify? You'd mentioned wanting to be part of a movement. If you happen to spur that movement, what should people do? I mean, I just did an Instagram post. I thought a few hundred of our followers would probably see it. I didn't anticipate the possibility that this could actually be a part of a story that could build into a movement. 'It was easy for us because we're making most of our income from touring.' I suddenly feel a lot of responsibility to people. It's like any form of refusal, any form of protest, any form of civil disobedience, any form of strike, boycott. What we're doing is basically going on strike — it's not really, because we don't have any intention of going back, but it's like a strike. We were the musicians, the laborers Spotify uses as their bait for their ad company. In any of these popular situations, the more people do it, the more effective it is. I already have had many of my music friends and colleagues tell me, 'Well, I can't really afford to leave Spotify.' I'm like, I don't judge you at all. I understand the situation. It was easy for us because we're making most of our income from touring. But that's a privileged position. I don't look down at somebody who doesn't feel that their own ability to to eat and pay rent will be so adversely affected by leaving Spotify that they just can't do it. At the same time, if a lot of people do it, then what happens is, Spotify goes the way of MySpace. You know, it's just not cool anymore. It's just not a trendy thing that everybody is compelled to use. That's the ultimate goal, to make it so stupid and so uncool and such a laughingstock that nobody even wants to use it. I want to talk a little bit about AI now. You made the announcement over Instagram, and Meta is also developing AI, and last year, okayed its use by the US military. So what's the hard line for you? I feel exactly the same about Meta or Instagram as I do about Spotify in that we hope for a mass defection. We hope for a mass strike, or a mass boycott, or just a mass refusal to use it anymore, and we will be the first to go. 'We would also very much enjoy disempowering Mark Zuckerberg.' But of course, there's a gray area. We're not literally directly making dollars from Instagram, but Instagram assists us in our ability to make income from other sources, such as ticket and record sales. I take some inspiration from, you know, worldwide boycott movements. I saw Cesar Chavez speak once in the late '80s. I remember people were asking, 'Why are you so focused on grapes? Why would you boycott an organic grape while there's these pesticide-covered apples that you're not even talking about?' And [Chavez] is like, 'It's just a strategy. It's about targeted action.' You see very much the same thing happening with BDS [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions], particularly in the past couple years. There are many institutions and companies and individuals who have ties either to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu or Israel's government or the IDF [Israel Defense Force], but we're going to target these specific ones so that public consciousness can be focused. In a media environment that is perpetually oversaturated, it sometimes is strategic to focus one's efforts on a specific entity at a time, or not to overdo it. We would also very much enjoy disempowering Mark Zuckerberg. His particular fetishes and hobbies and fantasies of what he would like to do with his multibillion dollars is slightly different, perhaps, than Daniel Ek's, but it's obviously been clear, at least since the Cambridge Analytica scandal and Trump's first election, that that he both desires and succeeds at being involved in politics. Not to even mention his flirtation with possibly running for president. It's clear that he understands and gets a thrill from the fact that he's actually able to control world events somewhat by what he chooses to censor or shadow ban or what he chooses to teach his algorithms to promote to the top of any given person's feed. Yes, Deerhoof would like Instagram to also become uncool. I imagine that Instagram will go the way of any other platforms that don't really offer anything or create anything. What they create is loneliness, and they create what they require. They create longing, or they create distraction. They take you away from your own thoughts and your own feelings and obliterate your idle time in which you might have your own thoughts or feelings or create something, like writing a song. I don't believe that Instagram is compatible with survival in the long run. 'If it's a human right to have free recorded music, then it should be nationalized.' There's a generation — probably a couple generations now — who've grown up knowing nothing but free music, and they may feel that it's their human right. I actually can sympathize with somebody saying, 'I think I should have free music,' in which case I would say, 'Great, then obviously, if it's a human right to have free recorded music, then it should be nationalized. It should not be done for profit.' It's the same as we say about healthcare. It's the same as we say about housing. It's the same as we say about higher education. It's wild to be a touring band and be friends with French musicians. They're like, 'Oh, my salary is paid by taxes. My salary is paid by the government. I need to play 31 shows a year, and then I get paid.' In other words, the French population pays me to be a musician. [Ed. note: In France, musicians can collect a special class of unemployment income called intermittents du spectacle.] It's like, whoa, try imagining that happening here, how much that would change everything. Right now, the people who create recorded music do it for free, but any money that changes hands goes into the pockets of Daniel Ek. It goes into the pockets of somebody who uses it to automate and industrialize mass murder. That is not a scenario that most people are likely to give a thumbs up to if it's presented to them in that way. That's not Spotify's sales pitch but it should be because that's the reality, that's what you're signing up for. You just had a new album come out, Noble and Godlike in Ruin. Where can people find it? You can find it at the record store, you can find it on Bandcamp, you can find it on our website, you can find it on our label's website, and then there's any number of other tech platforms that allow for search fields in which you can type that. Or video platforms that will make it very easy for you to hear. Spotify seems like the only choice as the result of backroom deals between major labels. That made Spotify compulsory for everyone, regardless if you're Beyoncé. This doesn't mean that it's the only place to hear recorded music. Just go anywhere — literally anywhere — else.
