Users Vow to Boycott Spotify After Streamer Runs ICE Recruitment Ad

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Oct 14, 2025 at 04:22 PM EDT updated Oct 14, 2025 at 05:57 PM EDT


Spotify users have begun canceling their subscriptions over advertisements by the U.S. government seeking to recruit immigration enforcement agents.

The ads urge listeners to “join the mission to protect America” by becoming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, but users of the music streaming giant have taken to social media and Spotify’s website to complain, and announce their withdrawal from the audio platform.

"Consumer boycotts are a staple of American politics, starting with the Boston Tea Party up to today’s boycotts of Coors, Disney, Target, Chick-fil-A, Walmart, etc.," Lucy Atkinson, associate professor at the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin, told Newsweek. "For consumers, boycotts can be an appealing form of civic engagement from both sides of the political spectrum. And yet the efficacy of a boycott remains uncertain."

Spotify told Newsweek that the ads were part of a broad campaign by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), adding that users were free to thumbs-up or thumbs-down ads in the app. The DHS told Newsweek that its recruitment campaign was a resounding success.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/users-vow-to-boycott-spotify-after-streamer-runs-ice-recruitment-ad-10878788

[Picaro]

1. Spotify is going to lose a lot of customers

My daughter cancelled Spotify and signed on with some other service the moment she heard the ICE promo. Said it was easy and she was able to transfer her play lists in just a few clicks.

[QueerDuck]

2. We switched from Spotify to Amazon Music during the original Joe Rogan controversy...

unfortunately, Amazon Music has a smaller library, and the interface is more difficult to use, and the suggested songs aren't as on-target, and the playlist-construction procedure isn't as easy or intuitive. But we feel better about our decision.

Before making the switch we'd found there are several apps/services that will automatically transfer your existing curated playlists from one to the other... so that made the process a little less painful and worth the $10 for the service.

[Javaman]

3. Spotify pays shit to the artists. now this. nt

[lark]

4. Fuck corporate subservience to their golden master and fuck Spotify.

I haven't been on there in ages and will not go there again. Telling everyone I know that Spotify is bowing to the golden anus.