These 2 posts are just a tiny slice of what I've seen on my Instagram feed just within the past few days. Each post is getting huge engagement and gives some details as to what is going on. A quick read of the comments indicates artists are starting to focus more on sharing music from and driving traffic to their own websites, Bandcamp (which has remained a champion of indie musicians consistently for 17 years now), and other artist-friendly platforms.
These may not play on the mobile app. I the included first post's description.
Spotify Is Wrapped:
1 Promote ICE recruitment ads and defended their position
2 CEO invested hundreds of millions into AI war technology through Helsing
3 Terms/conditions allow Spotify to use music and content to train internal AI
4 Major labels own >7% of Spotify, account for 80-90% of editorial playlists, but only take up ~40% of total catalog
5 Actively push AI artists and music
6 Royalty rate one of the lowest of all streaming platforms and refuse to pay artists with <1,000 streams
7 Payola with their Discovery Mode, 30% less royalties for being bumped in recommendations
8 Buy stock music and push these songs and artists in playlists and search cues to dilute royalty pool
9 Streaming quality is worse than top ethical and equitable alternatives
10 Price increases in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia with plans for 2026 in US and Canada
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Ethical & Equitable Alternatives
Streaming: @qobuz @tidal @deezer @codamusicapp
Transfer music: @soundiizofficial
Purchase: @subvertworld @bandcamp
Audiobooks: @librofm
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Sources:
1 https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/letter-to-spotify-ceo-daniel-ek-re-u-s-customs-and-immigration-enforcement-advertisements/
2 https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spotify-ceo-daniel-ek-leads-690m-funding-round-for-ai-drone-manufacturer-helsing/
3 https://musictechpolicy.com/2025/09/02/ai-implications-of-spotifys-updated-terms-of-use-your-data-is-their-new-oil/
4 https://www.music-tomorrow.com/blog/is-spotify-editorial-playlist-landscape-fair-to-emerging-artists
5 https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001639920/6b71c48f-22b3-4c46-a206-5eb425d05e63.pdf
6 https://royaltyexchange.com/blog/how-music-streaming-platforms-calculate-payouts-per-stream-2025 and https://artists.spotify.com/en/blog/modernizing-our-royalty-system
7 https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/files/2025/11/GENEVIEVE-CAPOLONGO-v-SPOTIFY.pdf
8 https://harpers.org/archive/2025/01/the-ghosts-in-the-machine-liz-pelly-spotify-musicians/
9 https://www.whathifi.com/advice/hi-res-music-streaming-services-compared
10 https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spotify-raises-uk-and-switzerland-premium-prices-again-as-analysts-see-us-hike-by-early-2026/
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