<\/p>\n
Wu Lyf<\/a> have removed their latest single \u2018A New Life Is Coming\u2019 from Spotify<\/a> \u2013 find out more below.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Deftones\u2019 Chino Moreno on longevity, creativity and making music that lives forever<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n In April, Wu Lyf released \u2018A New Life Is Coming\u2019, marking their first release in 13 years<\/a>. Now, just five months later, the band have pulled the song from Spotify \u2013 and other streaming platforms. While the band haven\u2019t addressed its removal from Apple Music and other platforms, they did confirm on social media that its removal from Spotify was largely due to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek\u2019s investment in AI military drone tech<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wu Lyf wrote on Instagram over the weekend: \u201cA few months ago we pulled \u2018Go Tell Fire to the Mountain\u2019 from streaming services, clearing ground for a new life to take root. There were several conversations that led to this decision, circling around a disdain for what the Spotify algorithm & economics has done to music culture. Since then we\u2019ve all learned about the Spotify CEO\u2019s investment in A.I. weaponry and seen several bands we respect make statements about removing their music.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, following some lengthy debate we\u2019ve decided to take \u2018A New Life Is Coming\u2019 down as well. Nothing ever changes unless we have the courage to try (& perhaps fail) to do things differently. Today on worldunite.org we\u2019re sharing an early demo of \u2018Letting Go\u2019 for LYF members. This take was recorded shortly after the initial idea emerged out of some soul making blues, and though the song has evolved somewhat since then we think it captures something special\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n With the move, Wy Lyf join King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard<\/a>, Xiu Xiu<\/a> \u2013 who also recently \u00a0announced that they are in the process of removing their music from the platform<\/a> over Ek\u2019s \u201cinvestment in AI war drones\u201d \u2013 and Deerhoof<\/a>, who\u00a0pulled their catalogue from the streamer<\/a>\u00a0for the same reason, stating: \u201cWe don\u2019t want our music killing people. We don\u2019t want our success being tied to AI battle tech,\u201d Deerhoof said in a statement.<\/p>\n King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard frontman Stu Mackenzie said<\/a>: \u201cWe\u2019ve been saying fuck Spotify for years. In our circle of musician friends, that\u2019s what people say all the time, for all of these other reasons which are well documented.\u201d He went on to explain that while he doesn\u2019t \u201creally consider myself an activist, and I don\u2019t feel comfortable soapboxing,\u201d the band \u201cdon\u2019t really want our music to be here, at least right now\u201d.<\/p>\n In recent years, people have been divided about streaming platforms and their impact on the music industry. In 2024, for example,\u00a0Ek sparked backlash for his comments relating to the cost of \u201ccreating content\u201d<\/a>, with countless users and\u00a0musicians describing him as \u201cout of touch\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ek later\u00a0walked back on his comments, explaining in an apology that he had no intention of dismissing the struggles faced by musicians and using the \u201creductive\u201d label of \u201ccontent\u201d<\/a>. The negative response to this was heightened as, around the same time, it was confirmed that\u00a0Spotify had made profits of over \u20ac1billion (\u00a3860m), following staff being laid off and subscription prices rising<\/a>.<\/p>\n The streaming platform also received criticism after it\u00a0officially demonetised all songs on the platform with less than 1,000 streams<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0making it harder for artists to generate royalties from their music<\/a>\u00a0and restricting new artists looking to crack the music industry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n