Massive Attack have removed their catalogue from Spotify in protest against founder Daniel Ek’s €600m (£520m) investment in military AI company Helsing. The band cited the “moral and ethical burden” of having revenue from their music fund lethal technologies.
Helsing develops AI software for analysing battlefield data and produces the HX-2 military drone. Ek, who is also Helsing’s chairman, led the company’s latest funding round through his venture capital firm Prima Materia.
The band’s decision coincides with their participation in the No Music for Genocide initiative, where over 400 artists and labels are withholding music from streaming services in Israel. Massive Attack clarified that their Spotify protest is separate, focusing on the ethics of funding military AI through artists’ royalties.
In a statement, Massive Attack referenced historical precedents of artist action against apartheid and condemned the economic and ethical burden placed on musicians whose work indirectly supports dystopian technologies.
Spotify emphasized that the company and Helsing are separate entities and that Helsing’s technology is used solely in Europe for defense against Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Massive Attack join other acts including King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Deerhoof, and Wu Lyf in removing music from Spotify over Ek’s investment. The band has urged musicians to channel their frustration into coherent action to oppose the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine.
