Saetia have removed their catalog from Spotify, citing ICE recruitment ads, poor artist pay, and ethical conflicts.
Saetia have removed their entire discography from Spotify, citing what they describe as serious ethical and political concerns with the music streaming giant. The New York band, who reunited this year and released their first new music since 1999, announced the decision on Sunday (October 26).
In a detailed statement, Saetia outlined several reasons for the move, including Spotify’s ties to military tech investment, its notoriously low artist payouts, and its recent decision to run recruitment ads for ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement). The band said the combination of these factors no longer aligned with their values.
The band were clear that the choice was not an attack on music accessibility, acknowledging that many fans first discovered them through streaming.
Their full statement reads:
“AS MANY OF YOU HAVE NOTICED, SAETIA IS IN THE PROCESS OF REMOVING OUR MUSIC FROM SPOTIFY. ‘COLLECTED’ IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE, AND ‘TENDRILS’ WILL SOON BE OFF THE PLATFORM AS WELL. ULTIMATELY, WE DECIDED THAT SPOTIFY IN PARTICULAR DOES NOT AT ALL ALIGN WITH THE BAND’S VALUES OR ETHOS. WHETHER IT’S RUNNING ICE RECRUITMENT ADVERTISEMENTS OR PAYING ARTISTS FRACTIONS OF PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR WHILE SUBSIDIZING VOICES LIKE JOE ROGAN, WE JUST FELT IT WAS TIME TO SEPARATE OUR MUSIC FROM THEIR MESSAGE.
TO BE CLEAR, SAETIA IS NOT OPPOSED TO ACCESSING MUSIC ON STREAMING PLATFORMS. IN FACT, WE ACKNOWLEDGE (AND EVEN CELEBRATE!) THE FACT THAT THE MAJORITY OF SAETIA FANS DISCOVERED THE BAND BY WAY OF FILE SHARING AND STREAMING SERVICES. THIS DECISION HAS NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH ACCESS.
WE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE AND ADMIT THAT WHILE WE ARE ESPECIALLY OUT OF SYNC WITH A COMPANY LIKE SPOTIFY, IT’S NOT LIKE WE ARE IN LOCKSTEP WITH OTHER CORPORATIONS CURRENTLY STREAMING OUR MUSIC. THE REALITY IS THAT ACROSS THE WORLD, OVER 1.5 BILLION PEOPLE ARE STREAMING MUSIC. IN THE US, ONLY 10% OF MUSIC LISTENERS ACTUALLY BUY PHYSICAL MEDIA. THIS REALITY MEANS SMALL DIY BANDS LIKE OURSELVES HAVE DIFFICULT DECISIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS WHEN FACED WITH A LANDSCAPE THAT IS ENGINEERED TO PRIORITIZE ACCESS OVER ETHICS. WHATEVER COMPROMISES COME WITH BEING AN ARTIST IN 2025, WE CAN STILL DO SMALL THINGS THAT FEEL RIGHT TO US, SO THAT IS WHAT WE DID.
TO SOME OF YOU, WE ARE CAUSING A HEADACHE AND INCONVENIENCE AND TO OTHERS, WE ARE PROBABLY NOT DOING ENOUGH. ALTHOUGH WE CAN’T POSSIBLY BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYBODY, WE NEED TO MAKE THE DECISIONS THAT MAKE SENSE TO US AND SPEAK TO OUR BELIEFS. TO THOSE OF YOU WHO PURCHASED OR DOWNLOADED OUR MUSIC – MAKE COPIES FOR YOUR FRIENDS THAT TYPICALLY STREAM US ON SPOTIFY.
OUR MUSIC HAS BEEN SHARED ACROSS THIS COMMUNITY FOR 25 YEARS AND WE HAVE SEEN FIRST HAND THAT THE CONNECTIONS YOU MAKE SHARING MUSIC WILL MEAN MORE THAN A SAETIA LISTING ON YOUR ANNUAL SPOTIFY WRAPPED.
THANKS FOR LISTENING AND TAKE CARE OF ONE ANOTHER.”
The decision makes Saetia one of the latest artists to publicly distance themselves from Spotify, joining a growing movement of musicians pushing back against the platform’s ethics and compensation practices – including artists like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Deerhoof.
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