Latest news with #XiuXiu
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Xiu Xiu to Pull Music From Spotify
All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by Pitchfork editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, Condé Nast may earn an affiliate commission. Xiu Xiu's Angela Seo and Jamie Stewart, January 2011 (Jordi Vidal/Redferns) Xiu Xiu are planning to remove their music from Spotify. 'It is taking longer than we had hoped due to procedurally complications but will be completed soon,' the band cautioned in a statement. 'Thanks for the support and patience.' Through a representative Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart told Pitchfork that they and their bandmates 'have been working on this for about a month, and the hope is that almost everything will be off next week.' They also said that Polyvinyl, Kill Rock Stars, and Graveface have been 'supportive' in helping the band get its music off Spotify. Explaining why they are trying to get their music off of Spotify, Xiu Xiu wrote: 'Spotify uses music money to invest in AI war drones.' Xiu Xiu are referring to investments made by Prima Materia, an investment fund that was founded by Spotify co-founder and chief executive Daniel Ek. It was reported in June that Prima Materia led a new round of investment in Helsing, a defense company that sells software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to inform military decisions. Prima Materia has been investing in Helsing since 2021, and the new round of funding amounts to 600 million euros ($693.6 million). Helsing currently operates in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. When asked if Xiu Xiu plan to pull music from additional streamers, Stewart said: 'We are removing our music from Spotify specifically and encouraging people to cancel their subscriptions because of their investment in AI war drones. Although the financial practices of all streaming services is acutely anti-musician, the actions of Spotify to use the profits they made from essentially stealing music in order to murder people to make even more money is almost beyond comprehension.' Last month, Deerhoof announced their intention of taking music off of Spotify. They also cited Prima Materia's investments as a major reason in leaving the digital streaming platform. All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by Pitchfork editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, Condé Nast may earn an affiliate commission. Will Neil Young and Joni Mitchell's Departure Spark a Bigger Spotify Exodus? They've started a widespread conversation about Spotify by doing something most musicians can't. Originally Appeared on Pitchfork Solve the daily Crossword
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay Area rock band cuts ties with ‘garbage hole' Spotify over CEO's AI weapons deal
Xiu Xiu, a popular Bay Area indie rock band, is the latest artist to take action against Spotify in protest of the streaming platform's ties to military artificial intelligence technology. "We are currently working to take all of our music off of garbage hole violent armageddon portal Spotify," the San Jose trio revealed in a statement shared to Instagram on Thursday, July 24. Xiu Xiu noted that the process is taking longer than expected due to procedural 'complications.' 'Spotify uses music money to invest in AI war drones,' the caption adds, referring to the platform's co-founder and chief executive, Daniel Ek, who reportedly invested nearly $700 million in European defense technology company Helsing, which is developing AI software for military use. Ek serves as chairman of Helsing and made the investment through his firm Prima Materia, which has been funding the company since 2021. Xiu Xiu told Consequence that their three main labels — Polyvinyl, Kill Rock Stars and Graveface — are in 'full support' of the decision. The group, composed of Jamie Stewart, Angela Seo and David Kendrick, came to the decision a month after San Francisco indie rock band Deerhoof cut ties with Spotify over similar concerns. 'We don't want our music killing people. We don't want our success being tied to AI battle tech,' the Deerhoof wrote in a statement posted to social media Monday, June 30. Its label, Joyful Noise Recordings, backed the choice. 'As a label, we too are sickened by the fact that our releases have inadvertently contributed to the global war machine,' Joyful Noise Records wrote in a separate statement. '(W)e serve the artist. It is ultimately their decision to present their material on whichever platforms they choose.' Several others have also joined the exodus, including the Dutch music label Kalahari Oyster Cult and Australian folk singer Leah Senior. 'As soon as I saw that Daniel Ek is investing in AI military technology, something just snapped and I thought, 'Enough,'' Senior told The Music Network. 'We all know Spotify is bad, has always been bad, but artists are made to feel like we need it, like it's just a necessary evil of the current music world. Well, I'm saying, we don't need them.' Meanwhile, other artists have pulled their music from Spotify due to other grievances with the streaming platform over the years. In 2022, Graham Nash, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell did so in protest of the platform's exclusive deal with podcaster Joe Rogan. Most have since returned.
