Spotify is the world’s largest music and podcast streaming platform, with nearly 700 million users and over 270 million paying subscribers. The company is being boycotted because CEO Daniel Ek used wealth accumulated through Spotify to personally lead a €600 million investment in Helsing, a European defense-tech firm developing AI-powered weapons systems. Ek now serves as Helsing’s chair, directly steering a company building strike drones and AI pilots for fighter jets. This ties Spotify’s global success, built on the work of artists and the money of listeners, to the growth of military AI.
Spotify is rated High Impact not because of a corporate policy but because of the political and financial decisions of its CEO. Daniel Ek’s position at Helsing embeds Spotify’s revenues, generated from underpaid artists and global subscription fees, into the development of autonomous weapons and battlefield AI. His dual role as Spotify chief and Helsing chair ensures that the fortunes of the music streaming giant are inseparable from the growth of Europe’s defence–tech industry.
The backlash has been significant: artists have pulled their catalogues, listeners have cancelled subscriptions, and advocacy groups have called attention to how cultural consumption is funding militarisation. Boycotting Spotify interrupts this cycle, challenging the pipeline that moves money from everyday entertainment into the infrastructure of war.
Qobuz
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