Sylvan Esso makes music available on Spotify again after year-long boycott

O duo se juntou a vários artistas ao remover sua música do Spotify no ano passado, após relatos de que o então CEO Daniel Ek liderou um investimento de 600 milhões de euros (524 milhões de libras) na Helsing, uma empresa com sede em Munique que cria drones e inteligência artificial para operações militares.

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Sylvan Esso pulled their catalogue in September 2025, saying they could no longer put their work on a service that “directly funds war machines.”.

Now, they’re returning to the platform, saying they can no longer afford to stay off it.

Em um vídeo postado na sexta‑feira (18 de setembro), Amelia Meath disse que o boicote tem gerado problemas financeiros. “Tornou‑se cada vez mais evidente que, se vamos continuar empregando todos que empregamos, é insustentável para nós não estarmos nessa plataforma, então vamos colocar de volta lá,” ela disse.

She went on to say that her and bandmate Nick Sanborn’s views haven’t changed, adding, “I don’t fucking like it, and I’m really frustrated by this reality.”.

Meath went on to add that 82 per cent of streaming happens on Spotify, but encouraged fans to use other services like Bandcamp, Qobuz, Subvert, or their local record stores.

Sylvan Esso released their fifth album, ‘Ow ∞’, just last week via the Psychic Hotline label after debuting on Partisan back in 2014.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard também retirou sua música da plataforma de streaming no ano passado, em uma tentativa de “put pressure on these Dr. Evil tech bros to do better”.

Xiu Xiu made a similar move due to Ek’s “investment in AI war drones”, while Massive Attack, Deerhoof and Wu Lyf all removed their music too.

Last September, Ek announced that he would be stepping down as CEO on January 1, 2026, with Spotify co-presidents Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström set to take his place.

During his tenure, Ek came under fire multiple times, including when it was reported that Spotify had made profits of over €1billion (£860million), but at the expense of staff being laid off, artists struggling to make any income from streaming, and subscription prices rising.

It became even harder for artists to make money from the platform in 2024, when Spotify officially demonetised all songs on the platform with less than 1,000 streams.

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