EntertainmentThe popular listening platform Spotify has dominated the streaming industry for years. But there have been recent calls to boycott the platform over controversies surrounding issues like artist compensation, its CEO and ICE ads. Are listeners finally fed up?Interest seems to have waned in highly popular Spotify Wrapped, an annual occasionAmelia Eqbal · CBC News · Posted: Nov 29, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 6 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The popular listening platform Spotify has dominated the streaming industry for years. But there have been recent calls to boycott the platform over controversies surrounding issues like artist compensation, AI-generated music and ICE recruitment ads. (Patrick Semansky/The Associated Press)The end of November used to mean something.It wasn’t just that the festive season was mere weeks away, or that Black Friday shopping madness was imminent, but that something fun and exciting was about to drop at any moment: Spotify Wrapped.The annual roundup of users’ personal listening data from the audio streaming platform first launched in 2015 — at the time, it was referred to as “Year in Music” — and became an online fixture in the mid to late 2010s.Like clockwork, social media platforms such as Instagram and X would be flooded with graphics from Spotify users showing their listening tastes over the past year. The feature became so popular that competing platforms, including Apple Music, began releasing their own versions in the late 2010s and early 2020s, to much less fanfare.But this year, the internet is uncharacteristically quiet during the period when Spotify Wrapped typically appears. The lack of anticipation comes during a challenging time for the streaming platform, as it faces backlash on such issues as artist compensation, AI-generated music and ICE recruitment ads.Controversies add up in 2025Over the past decade, what has really set Spotify Wrapped apart are the unique features from year to year that summarize a user’s music activity in the form of fun visualizations, like colourful auras and cities. These features regularly go viral, spawning memes that last for weeks.Statistics showing such things as the amount of minutes listened to, the number of unique songs played or the top percentage of fans for a certain artist have become a point of pride. Plus, the top song and top album lists bring a sense of nostalgia, creating a soundtrack for significant memories from the past year.But 2025’s controversies have taken a toll on the streaming service.First, there’s artist compensation. Spotify has long been criticized for its dismal payouts to artists. Earlier this year, some Grammy-nominated songwriters even boycotted a Spotify awards event in response to the company’s decision to reduce royalty rates for songwriters and publishers by merging its premium music service with audiobooks last year.Then there was the outcry around Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek’s investment in Helsing, a German defence company. When the news broke that the CEO had been funding the AI military tech company through his investment firm Prima Materia, indie artists like Massive Attack, Deerhoof and Godspeed You! Black Emperor pulled their music from the platform in protest during the summer.In late September, Ek announced he would be stepping down as CEO while remaining the executive chairman.The Velvet Sundown, an AI-generated band, is shown in its profile photo on Spotify and social media. The band’s music has become the centre of an elaborate hoax. (Facebook)When it comes to artificial intelligence in music, users also feel Spotify is falling short. This past summer, The Velvet Sundown, an AI-generated band, made headlines globally for garnering more than one million streams on Spotify in just weeks. The company does not label music that is AI-generated, but it announced in September that it is working toward strengthening AI protections for artists, including rolling out AI disclosures.Toronto-based culture writer Richie Assaly said the last 12 months have been a real tipping point for his relationship with Spotify, citing both the “slow adoption of AI onto the streaming service” and the choice of smaller indie artists to leave the streaming giant in response to Ek’s Helsing investment.“For us to change streaming platforms, to go to Apple or Tidal, is such a small thing. But for artists to really stick their neck out like that … it’s a really big decision,” he said.“I think if you’re a real music fan, you have to kind of take your cues from the artists who you listen to and respect…. I do think that this is the beginning of a shift, and I’m hopeful.”WATCH | Radio versus streaming:Radio pays more but Spotify still wins the betHip-hop veterans Mastermind and Jay Smooth join Elamin to discuss rap’s brief Billboard chart slip and why artists still invest in streaming when radio pays staggeringly more than Spotify.’The sheen has really worn off’There have also been a few high-profile lawsuits. Earlier this month, a class-action lawsuit was filed accusing Spotify of accepting payment in exchange for promotion on Discovery Mode playlists — which are intended to provide paid users with a personalized, curated playlist based on their actual music listening habits. Also filed in early November was a lawsuit against Spotify alleging billions of fraudulent streams using bots, to the benefit of artists like Drake.The last straw for some users, however, has been the controversial decision to run recruitment ads for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has come under fire this year for raiding workplaces and other spots in the U.S. and arresting migrants. Since the ads appeared on Spotify for free users in October, there have been calls to boycott the platform, with some paid users sharing online that they’ve chosen to cancel their subscriptions out of principle.As Spotify Wrapped season rolls around, Assaly said that “the sheen has really worn off.”
Is Spotify losing the streaming wars as it faces boycotts, lawsuits and assorted controversies?
