Sylvan Esso Spotify

A live performance from Sylvan Esso, the latest artist to exit Spotify. Photo Credit: friedoxygen

Want to stream Sylvan Esso’s new single? You’ll have to do so through a platform other than Spotify, as the North Carolina-based duo’s opted against releasing the track on the service.

Sylvan Esso confirmed the Spotify boycott today, which also brought the debut of “WDID.” Besides being the electropop act’s first new music in about three years, the effort represents Sylvan Esso’s initial release via Psychic Hotline, a label founded by members Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn.

In keeping with the exit announcement, the work appears to be streaming only on non-Spotify DSPs and the act’s website. Not stopping there, Sylvan Esso has yanked its wider catalog (including four studio albums) from Spotify, where the duo boasts “nearly a billion” cumulative streams and close to 900,000 monthly listeners.

Now, the latter figure seems poised to slip; just a handful of singles remain on the appropriate profile, which, for obvious reasons, continues to display a handful of works featuring Sylvan Esso.

Explaining the decision to quit Spotify, Sylvan Esso called out the platform’s “glaring flaws” and alleged that it “directly funds war machines.”

“As we prepare to release new music,” Sylvan Esso stated, “we have to decide what we want to be a part of and what we don’t. To that end, with Sylvan Esso being on our own label for the first time, we have decided to remove our music from Spotify. While no solution is perfect, we simply can’t continue to put our life’s work in a store that, in addition to all its other glaring flaws, directly funds war machines.”

That’s a not-so-subtle reference to the military investments of CEO Daniel Ek (who’ll soon be executive chairman).

Earlier this year, the Spotify exec’s Prima Materia led a roughly $700 million round for AI defense company Helsing; multiple indie artists have criticized the fact when explaining their own departures from the platform.

Some will recall that Ek’s long had an interest in the Munich-headquartered business, which hasn’t hesitated to underscore its “deep-rooted European identity and its commitment to Europe.” Thus far, said commitment has translated into several divisions and defense contracts throughout the EU.

In other words, issues with Ek’s years-old Helsing involvement are just now boiling over. Evidence – see the pullout reasons provided by north of 75 Chicago-based musicians – suggests that lousy pay, sweeping remix permissions, an endless sea of AI slop, a bundling craze, and guaranteed exposure for well-known artists might be contributing to the timing.

(Frankly, taking a moral stand against DSPs due to business practices and ties is a slippery slope indeed. One needn’t look far to find critical reports about the international working conditions of the companies that own two different music services. But especially for debuting and rising talent, boycotting today’s top platforms altogether probably isn’t a great idea.)

Nevertheless, there are certainly exposure-related benefits to staying on Spotify – or, at a minimum, possible fanbase-size consequences associated with quitting the platform.

As such, artists would be wise to consider the situation from all angles before making a move – and, if still inclined to put Spotify in the rearview, to parlay the corresponding announcement into a bit of media exposure.

Sylvan Esso intends to release a “WDID” vinyl edition (including a B-side entitled “Keep On”) on January 9th, and pre-orders are already live.