Massive Attack quits Spotify over CEO’s €600M military AI investment

Massive Attack has removed their entire music catalog from Spotify to protest CEO Daniel Ek’s €600 million investment in Helsing, a military AI company that develops battlefield analysis software and military drones. The Bristol-based band becomes the first major-label artist to take this stance, citing a “moral and ethical burden” where fan money and artistic work ultimately fund what they describe as “lethal, dystopian technologies.”

What you should know: Ek’s venture capital firm Prima Materia led Helsing’s latest funding round in June, with the Spotify founder also serving as chairman of the defense tech company.

• Helsing’s software uses AI to analyze sensor and weapons system data from battlefields for real-time military decisions and manufactures the HX-2 military drone.
• The company states its technology is only deployed in European countries for defense against Russian aggression in Ukraine, not in other war zones.

The broader movement: Massive Attack joins a growing list of artists pulling their music from Spotify over Ek’s military AI investments, though they’re uniquely positioned as the first major-label act to do so.

• Other artists who have left the platform include King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Hotline TNT, Deerhoof, and Wu Lyf.
• Unlike independent artists who can migrate to Bandcamp, Massive Attack cannot use the alternative platform due to their major-label status.

Dual protest strategy: The band simultaneously joined the “No Music for Genocide” initiative, which involves over 400 artists blocking their music from streaming services in Israel.

• The campaign includes artists such as MJ Lenderman, Amyl and the Sniffers, Rina Sawayama, Jockstrap, and Faye Webster.
• Artists are either editing their release territories or asking distributors to geo-block their releases in Israel.

What they’re saying: Massive Attack drew parallels between current activism and historical precedents in their statement.

• “In our view, the historic precedent of effective artist action during apartheid South Africa and the apartheid, war crimes and genocide now being committed by the state of Israel renders the No Music for Genocide campaign imperative.”
• “The economic burden that has long been placed on artists is now compounded by a moral and ethical burden, whereby the hard-earned money of fans and the creative endeavours of musicians ultimately funds lethal, dystopian technologies. Enough is more than enough.”

Artist protection initiative: The band previously formed a syndicate with Brian Eno, Kneecap, and Fontaines DC to protect musicians from being “threatened into silence or career cancellation” by organizations like UK Lawyers for Israel.

• The collective aims to offer solidarity to artists concerned about using their platforms due to industry censorship or external legal pressure.
• “This collective action is really about offering some kind of solidarity to those artists who are living day after day in a screen-time genocide, but are worried about using their platforms to express their horror,” the band told The Guardian.