‘We Can’t Be Complicit In Death Technologies’: David Bridie Pulls His Music From Spotify

David Bridie joins the growing number of recording artists to pull his works on Spotify — and he delivered a serious slapdown on the way out. 

The veteran singer, songwriter and instrumentalist used the platform of the 2025 AIR Awards in Adelaide to announce his decision to cut ties with the streaming giant.

While at the dais, Bridie, winner of AIR’s 2025 Outstanding Achievement Award, blasted Spotify founder Daniel Ek for “crossing a line” with his controversial investment in military AI, worth a reported €600 million ($A1 billion).

“Being an independent artist comes with plenty of challenges, it also comes with many privileges. One of them is that as an artist you’re free to speak your mind. You can live and create according to your beliefs. And when necessary you kick against the pricks,” Bridie remarked.

“Today I’m joining a growing number of musicians doing just that. I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify.”

He conceded the streamer was “convenient for listeners,” but for artists “who aren’t independently wealthy, the royalties are downright insulting. This is an unsustainable model for us.” But now “it’s beyond” conversations about money.

“When Spotify CEO Daniel Ek invested over a billion dollars into a European AI defence company, one opening building technology for warfare, the line was clearly crossed,” he added.

“Spotify used to be a necessary evil. Now it’s just evil.”

Representatives from Spotify, one of the awards’ sponsors, were watching on at Adelaide Town Hall as Bridie fired off his parting shot.

Melbourne-raised Bridie, a 40-year recording artist, film composer and co-founder of Not Drowning, Waving and My Friend the Chocolate Cake, was nominated for the career achievement salute by AIR members in recognition of his work through Wantok Musik Foundation.

Although deleting his catalogue from Spotify would mean “stuff-all” to Spotify or Ek, “there’s a strong moral issue here,” he continued. “We can’t be complicit in death technologies. So if you’re not artist, think hard that about where your music is, if you’re a listener, consider where your money goes, and as an industry, let’s think harder about where we take sponsorship from. And maybe all that thinking might fan the flame and in the indie spirit that drives us all.”

Artists and their songs “make communities,” he continued, “not destroy them.”

Bridie’s decision to lift the middle finger to Spotify closely follows King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s own decision to walk. The prolific psychedelic rockers have pulled almost their entire catalogue from the streaming platform with little notice, simply saying “fuck Spotify” while promoting a new demo collection that’s available only on Bandcamp.

Homegrown folk singer Leah Senior, post-punk band Dr Sure, and US indie rock band Deerhoof are among the artists taking a stand against Spotify, in response to Ek’s investment in the military start-up Helsing.