Skee Mask Removes Music From Spotify After Founder’s Investment In AI Technology

German DJ and electronic music producer Skee Mask has removed his catalog from music streaming giant Spotify.

Last year, Skee Mask released his album Pool physically and digitally, minus streaming platforms.

He took to social media to announce his reasoning behind the removal of his music, citing that Spotify is giving their money to the “development of warfare” instead of “actual progression in the music business.” 

“it’s done, all of my shit is gone from spotify..” Skee Mask wrote. “i have nothing against streaming in general, it’s one of many ways to make music even more accessible! for me it’s about how much / less the creators behind the music receive in terms of value, respect or space. i’m aware of the fact that almost every (big) streaming company plays the game in a similar way like spotify nowadays, but that’s not the point.”

Skee Mask’s statement concludes by saying that he’ll make his music available on the platform again “as soon as [Spotify] starts (somehow) becoming honest & respectful towards music makers.”

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s European investment company, Prima Materia, announced a massive investment of €100 million to fund Helsing, an AI-powered security company with a mission to “protect liberal democracies.” 

“We believe that software–and, in particular, artificial intelligence–will be the key capability to keep liberal democracies from harm,” reads Helsing’s website. “Our ambition is to achieve global technology leadership in real-time information processing, turning unstructured sensor data into information advantage for democratic governments.”

Dario Zenker, an executive at Munich-based record label Ilian Tape, confirmed the removal of the imprint’s entire catalog, which features music from Skee Mask, Stenny and Katatonic Silentio, among others. The label’s music can be found via Bandcamp and their website.