In the high-stakes world of music streaming, where algorithms curate playlists and fortunes are built on royalties, a single investment decision can unravel decades of brand loyalty. Daniel Ek, the co-founder and CEO of Spotify, has found himself at the center of a storm after leading a €600 million ($694 million) funding round in Helsing, a Munich-based defense tech startup specializing in AI-powered military software and drones.
What began as a bold bet on European security has escalated into a full-blown boycott, with artists pulling their catalogs from the platform and joining a global campaign against perceived complicity in conflict. For Ek, who has long positioned Spotify as the democratizing force of music discovery, the backlash is a stark reminder that in entertainment, ethics often trump economics.
Helsing, founded in 2021 by former gaming executive Torsten Reil, AI researcher Niklas Köhler, and ex-German Defense Ministry advisor Gundbert Scherf, develops software that analyzes battlefield data in real time to aid military decisions. Its innovations include the HX-2 strike drone and the "Centaur" system, which integrates AI pilots into fighter aircraft cockpits.
The company's tech is deployed exclusively in support of Ukraine against Russian aggression, with contracts from governments in Germany, France, the UK, and Sweden. Ek's investment firm, Prima Materia - co-founded with early Spotify backer Shakil Khan - doubled down on its stake, valuing Helsing at €12 billion and marking one of Europe's largest defense-tech deals. Total funding for Helsing now exceeds €1.37 billion, following a €450 million Series C round in July 2024 led by investors like General Catalyst, Accel, and Saab.
Ek defended the move in statements to the Financial Times, emphasizing Europe's need for "strategic autonomy" amid geopolitical tensions: "AI, mass, and autonomy are driving the new battlefield." He acknowledged potential criticism but insisted the investment aligns with Prima Materia's focus on "deep tech" for societal good. Yet, for many in the creative community, the optics are toxic.
Helsing's drones, assembled in southern Germany and supplied to Ukraine, symbolize the very militarization that artists have long opposed - especially as global conflicts rage. Ek's role as Helsing's chairman only amplifies the connection, turning Spotify's streaming empire into an unwitting proxy for protest.
The first major ripple hit in September 2025, when Massive Attack - the influential Bristol trip-hop collective with nearly eight million monthly Spotify listeners - announced their withdrawal from the platform. In an Instagram statement, the band cited Ek's "significant investments" in "military munition drones and AI technology integrated into fighter aircraft," arguing that fan payments and artist royalties now fund "lethal, dystopian technologies."
Their request to Universal Music Group (UMG) targets not just Israel but all territories, marking the first major-label act to fully boycott Spotify over this issue. Virgin Records, a UMG subsidiary, has halted adding new Massive Attack releases, including the group's first EP in five years, sidelining what could have been a streaming blockbuster.
Massive Attack's move aligns with the newly launched "No Music for Genocide" campaign, a cultural boycott initiative urging over 400 artists and labels to geo-block their music from Israeli streaming services.
Drawing parallels to the 1980s anti-apartheid boycotts in South Africa and the music industry's swift 2022 pullout from Russia post-Ukraine invasion, the campaign condemns Israel's actions in Gaza - where over 64,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, per UN reports - as genocide, alongside West Bank ethnic cleansing and domestic apartheid.
Participants include Fontaines D.C., Amyl and the Sniffers, Rina Sawayama, Primal Scream, Kneecap, Japanese Breakfast, Björk, Lorde, and Canadian acts like Caribou, Elisapie, and BadBadNotGood. By November 2025, signatories neared 500, with the effort coordinated alongside the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) under the broader BDS movement.
This isn't isolated fallout. Since Ek's investment news in June, indie artists have led the charge: Australian psych-rockers King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard removed their 27-album catalog in July, redirecting fans to Bandcamp with pay-what-you-want downloads that dominated the platform's charts. Others followed suit, including Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Hotline TNT, Wu Lyf, and Young Widows.
These acts, often on independent labels, migrated to alternatives like Bandcamp, highlighting Spotify's vulnerability to ethical defections. Helsing responded to the uproar by clarifying on its website: "Our technology is deployed to European countries for deterrence and for defence against Russian aggression in Ukraine only," dismissing claims of Middle East involvement as "misinformation." Spotify echoed this, stating the companies are "totally separate" and Helsing focuses on Ukraine.
For Spotify, the timing couldn't be worse. The platform, with 640 million monthly users and €13.2 billion in 2024 revenue, faces mounting pressures: sluggish subscriber growth amid competition from Apple Music and YouTube, and ongoing artist grievances over paltry royalties - averaging $0.003 to $0.005 per stream.
Ek's net worth, pegged at $4.7 billion, stems largely from Spotify shares, but the boycott threatens its aura as the "place for every ear." Losing Massive Attack alone could dent playlist metrics and algorithmic recommendations, while the "No Music for Genocide" push risks broader geo-restrictions. Critics like Massive Attack's Robert "3D" Del Naja argue the platform's economic model now carries a "moral and ethical burden," compounding long-standing payout complaints.
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The irony is palpable: Ek built Spotify on accessibility and community, yet his pivot to defense tech - framed as safeguarding Europe - has fractured that very community.
As one anonymous UMG executive told Music Business Worldwide, "Artists tolerate low royalties for reach, but not for funding bombs." Helsing's decacorn status underscores booming European defense VC, up 30% to $5.2 billion in 2024 per NATO reports, but in music's pacifist undercurrents, it's a flashpoint.
Ek remains defiant, telling outlets he's "100% convinced this is the right thing for Europe." Yet, as boycotts proliferate, Spotify may need more than algorithms to reclaim its stars - perhaps a reevaluation of where the beats of innovation lead.
