Spotify Whacked: activists call for new year’s resolution to boycott Spotify

Human rights activists are organizing against Spotify’s abuses—calling on listeners, musicians, and labels to post their commitment to boycott instead of sharing their Spotify Wrapped.

As Spotify Wrapped sweeps social media, human rights activists have declared that being a Spotify customer in 2025 is nothing to celebrate. Spotify Whacked is a new campaign launched by the artist-led human rights nonprofit Fight for the Future. It calls on listeners, musicians, and labels to commit to boycotting Spotify instead of providing free PR through sharing their Wrapped content.

Spotify has repeatedly come under fire this year for paying artists virtually nothing, pushing AI-generated slop, running ICE recruitment ads, a payola lawsuit, and its former CEO Daniel Ek using the company’s profits to invest in AI military drones.

The Spotify Whacked page lists musicians and labels that are beginning to boycott Spotify, punching holes in the music streaming service once known for having it all. There is a sign-on form for any music project to join in.

The campaign is now live at https://fftf.link/spotifywhacked

Fight for the Future’s Lia Holland (they/she), said: “With Spotify Wrapped, the corporation is using their customers’ love of music to try and gloss over the militaristic, hateful, and cruel choices that their leadership made in 2025. Sharing a Spotify Wrapped shouldn’t be a comfortable experience for listeners this holiday season. Instead, we are making Spotify’s annual art-washing an incitement to consider whether you want to be complicit with devaluing music, AI killing machines, and human rights abuses. It’s extremely easy to choose a platform that isn’t Spotify—in fact, this is a new years resolution that most people could check off their list in under an hour.”

Fight for the Future is also highlighting ethical alternatives to Spotify and tools that make it easy to transfer playlists and other content as a part of the campaign.