The tech world has made its allegiance to Donald Trump and to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency clear. So it’s not a surprise that Spotify is running recruitment ads for ICE—after all, so are YouTube, HBO, Hulu, Pandora, and more. What might make Spotify different, though, is that artists and labels can choose whether or not they want their work to be situated alongside those kinds of advertisements. According to Stereogum, sister labels Epitaph and ANTI- have posted messages calling for Spotify to stop running the ads, as has the band Thursday.
“Artists and fans deserve platforms that reflect the values of the culture they sustain,” Epitaph’s message on social media reads. Thursday invited fans to join the collective call to have the ads expunged. But a spokesperson for Spotify told The Independent that the ads—which encourage listeners to “join the mission to protect America” and “fulfill your mission” by applying to become an ICE agent—do not violate Spotify’s advertising policies. (Apparently, the policy against “Dangerous Products and Services” doesn’t apply to a job that involves harassing and kidnapping innocent people.) The spokesperson said that the commercials are “part of a broad campaign the US government is running across television, streaming, and online channels” and that if someone doesn’t like an ad, they can “thumbs down” react to manage their own preferences.
This latest Spotify backlash comes after a growing movement of artists and labels boycotting the platform over founder Daniel Ek’s investment in German military AI company Helsing. Groups like Deerhoof, Sylvan Esso, Massive Attack, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and more have removed their music (or requested to have their music removed) over the issue. A separate movement, No Music For Genocide, has called for geo-blocking music in Israel. The ICE recruitment ads bring Spotify’s political backlash stateside, which could lead to a larger reckoning for the platform within the music industry.
