DEATH TO SPOTIFY: USERS AND ARTISTS BOYCOTT AFTER ICE RECRUITMENT AD

BY: HALEY BROWN / STAFF WRITER

Spotify boycott graphic (Photo Credit: Euronews.com)

Spotify is facing a fresh wave of backlash after users discovered that the platform has been running recruitment ads for ICE. The ads, which reportedly promise signing bonuses of up to $50,000, have sparked outrage among listeners and artists who say the streaming giant is once again crossing ethical lines.

One of the ads, which has circulated quickly on social media, encourages listeners to “Join ICE and fulfill your mission,” while promoting benefits and bonuses for new recruits. The campaign is part of a larger federal hiring initiative to bring on more than 10,000 deportation officers by the end of the year, funded through a $30 billion budget allocation from President Donald Trump’s administration.

Spotify confirmed that it is running the ICE ads but defended the decision, a company spokesperson saying in a statement that the advertisement referencing to “dangerous illegals” is “part of a broad campaign the U.S. government is running across television, streaming, and online channels” and that the content does not violate their advertising policies. However, users can mark any ad with a thumbs up or thumbs down to help manage their ad preferences.

The company declined to comment on how much revenue the ads generate or on concerns related to ICE’s history of racial profiling, raids, and violence against protesters.

The ads come at a time when Spotify is already riddled with controversy. Over the past year, artists and activists have called for boycotts over low royalty payments, concerns about artificial intelligence–generated music, and CEO Daniel Ek’s ties to the defense technology firm Helsing. Ek’s involvement in a company developing AI for military applications has caused many artists to question whether their art is being indirectly linked to warfare and surveillance.

Indie bands and local collectives have already begun pulling their music from the platform in protest. Groups like Deerhuff and several Seattle-based artists announced their withdrawal earlier this fall, citing Spotify’s “corporate disregard for artists and ethics.” In Oakland, musicians recently held a “Death to Spotify” event aimed at helping fans discover independent alternatives. Attendees discussed how to “decentralize music discovery and production from capitalist platforms that exploit creators.”

Meanwhile, indie labels including Epitaph and ANTI-Records have joined the pushback, calling on Spotify to remove the ICE ads immediately. “Artists and fans deserve platforms that reflect the values of the culture they sustain,” the labels said in a joint statement reported by Relix.

For many listeners, the ICE campaign feels like a breaking point. Critics argue that inserting recruitment messages for a controversial law enforcement agency into a music streaming experience blurs the line between entertainment and political propaganda. ICE has faced years of criticism for its treatment of immigrants and its role in family separations, deportations, and raids on undocumented communities.

The backlash has intensified across social media platforms like Reddit and X, where posts about the ads have gone viral. A Reddit thread discussing the campaign earned nearly 2,000 upvotes in a matter of days, with users sharing clips of the ads and expressing shock that they were hearing them between songs. One commenter wrote, “It’s one thing to get insurance ads or McDonald’s jingles, but ICE? That crosses a line.”

Spotify’s response was that the ads comply with its policies and that users can downvote them. This has done little to calm the outrage. Critics argue that by allowing the ads, the company is normalizing and profiting from a government campaign tied to policies many consider violent and discriminatory.

A Death to Spotify event at Bathers library in Oakland California, (Photo Credit: The Guardian)

The controversy reflects a larger shift in the conversation about streaming platforms. What began as a fight over royalties has evolved into a moral debate about the values companies represent. 

“You have to accept that you won’t have instant access to everything,” one Oakland protest organizer stated. “That makes you think harder about what you support.”

Critics say Spotify can no longer act as if it’s merely a passive platform when its business decisions directly shape the culture it profits from. So far, Spotify has shown no sign of pulling the ICE ads. But if the boycott movement continues to gain traction, the company may face mounting pressure from artists, listeners, and advocacy groups. If more musicians remove their catalogs or fans migrate to competing services like Apple Music, Tidal, or Bandcamp, Spotify could see its cultural dominance begin to slip.

The controversy also raises questions for the entire streaming industry. If one of the world’s largest music platforms can host recruitment campaigns for a government agency accused of human rights abuses, where does the ethical line get drawn? Or was there ever one to begin with? 

For now, the “Death to Spotify” movement continues to grow online and in music communities across the U.S. What started as frustration over pay has evolved into a broader challenge to corporate ethics in the digital music era. As one Seattle artist put it in an open letter last week: “Spotify might think this is just business. But to us, music has always been political.”