Spotify offers its users millions of tracks in their pockets. But while it seems every artists in the world is on the platform, it's not quite the case. We take a look at some of the artists who left, were removed and who boycotted Spotify.
Spotify is a staple for many of us. In fact, according to recent music streaming statistics, 38.1% of British adults use the platform making it the single biggest streaming platform in the country (with Amazon, at just over 36%, closing the gap in second place).
It’s not difficult to see why. You can have a seemingly infinite supply of music in your pocket. And it seems like every artist you’d ever listen to is on it, right? But that’s not actually the case. A decade or so ago, the Beatles were amongst the lagging high profile artists still not on the platform for a multitude of reasons. When they landed on Spotify (finally) on Christmas Eve 2015, they quickly racked up millions of streams and hit a billion streams this year.
But while the Beatles are now available in your pocket, not every major artist is. Even now, in 2023, there are still some high profile artists who are not on Spotify or who have limited tracks on the platform. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks fans will find an incredibly limited selection of music on the platform. He signed an exclusive agreement with Amazon Music for much of his catalog and has previously outlined concerns he has over the compensation artists get from Spotify. So it looks most likely that, unless Spotify’s artist payment model changes, Garth Brooks will not permit his full repertoire to land on the service.
Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom has been incredibly open about her views on Spotify, having said the following in 2015: "Spotify is like a villainous cabal of major labels. The business is built from the ground up as a way to circumvent the idea of paying their artists." Fast forward to 2023 and you’ll find only one track featuring Newsom on the platform and that’s the Muppet Movie soundtrack. Her own music remains absent from Spotify.
Joni Michell
The delightful sounds of Joni Mitchell are a fan favourite. But you’ll find a very limited number of tracks on Spotify as of 2023. Following Spotify’s multi million dollar deal with Joe Rogan, who was accused of Covid vaccine misinformation, Joni Mitchell announced on her website, in January 2022, that she would be pulling all of her music from the platform. You’ll now find only limited tracks on the service, though it remains unclear why this handful do remain.
Neil Young
Joni Mitchell was actually standing in solidarity with Neil Young when she pulled her music from the streaming service. Neil was first - requesting his label remove all his music in protest at Spotify’s relationship with Joe Rogan. Again, only a handful of tracks remain.
Blood on the Dancefloor
Those of you who had Spotify before April 2019 may well have noticed Blood on the Dancefloor very much was on the platform. But in late April 2019, Spotify took the decision to remove all of Dahvie Vanity’s music from its platform under its “prohibited content” policy. This was the result of rape and assault allegations.
Disputes with Spotify
Despite a whole host of artists having previously openly disputed many of Spotify’s policies (particularly having a free user tier), most (Adele and Coldplay as high profile examples) appear to have added their music in the end. But what is clear is that the compensation artists receive from Spotify is questionable and with increased competition in the streaming game, it remains to be seen whether it can retain its dominance.
