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Spotify running ICE recruitment ads about "dangerous illegals"

djmag.com

74 points by usrxcghghj 2 months ago · 53 comments

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pploug 2 months ago

From article: ads are also running on: HBO Max, X, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, LinkedIn and Meta, as well as cable television channels.

And what choice do these platforms really have? They either run ice ads, or risk getting on the bad side on the administration.

  • John23832 2 months ago

    Historical equivalent.

    1940’s Germany: Run the trains to the camps, or bad things will happen to you.

    Sometimes you should say no. We’ve ceded power to corporations in the society so that they are essentially the most powerful thing next to the government. (potentially more powerful than the government in some cases) if they are not willing to say no, that is a problem

  • soupfordummies 2 months ago

    So? Risk it. Make a (very small) stand. We're talking companies that are almost monopolies or at the very least duopolies.

    • pploug 2 months ago

      I agree on principle, while at the same time I'm fairly sure the common employees at these respective companies are probably thankful that their job security is not impacted by their employer taking a (very small) stand.

Incipient 2 months ago

I'd gladly cancel Spotify, however "play song X" on Android, and the move between devices and keep playing/having my music/podcasts is very convenient - is there an alternative?

jMyles 2 months ago

This is one of (though not the only) reasons I'm uncomfortable having my music on Spotify.

I do still publish there, but I vastly prefer my fans grab my music via IPFS or Bit Torrent.

It's so bizarre that someone hovering over the "play" button on one of my songs doesn't know whether they're about to hear Harry's mandolin or an authoritarian recruiting pitch.

  • resters 2 months ago

    I cancelled over it. Not worth it to support a company that is willing to profit from ICE.

    • vincnetas 2 months ago

      My reason why i consider canceling is that Spotify decided that it also wants to be a video platform. And now i have to enable screen time on Spotify so that my kids wont spend whole time "listening to music" but actually watching brainrot. Before there was no need for screen time limits on spotify.

    • krembo 2 months ago

      You could say the same about DEA, in anarchy each sets its own line for what's good or bad, legal or not.

    • MangoToupe 2 months ago

      If you think apple won't bend over for ICE you're crazy

      • gherkinnn 2 months ago

        They have in the app store, so yes. And yet, I can't boycott everything at once. Facebook and Spotify are a good place to start, there are plenty of alternatives and plenty of alternative reasons to cancel your subscription.

        • MangoToupe 2 months ago

          Short of moving out of the country or certain acts that aren't legal to advocate for in this country, who cares what you do

        • inemesitaffia 2 months ago

          HBO Max, X, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, LinkedIn and Meta, as well as cable television channels.

      • jMyles 2 months ago

        Yeah, as I said, I prefer my fans get my music from IPFS or Bit Torrent or some other decentralized place. I have the same objections to Apple Music that I have to Spotify and all the rest of the DRM crooks.

  • anigbrowl 2 months ago

    There's already an artist-led movement to boycott Spotify, if you were looking for motivation to move your stuff to a competitor like Bandcamp or Tidal. This article is not about the ICE advertisements.

    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/12/spotify-b...

    • jMyles 2 months ago

      All of my music is already on Bandcamp and Tidal. I just haven't gone the next step and pulled it from Spotify.

  • acosmism 2 months ago

    ditto. my friends can't even play my song even if i sent a link to my profile

  • insane_dreamer 2 months ago

    What about Bandcamp?

gherkinnn 2 months ago

There are plenty of alternatives. Time to cancel your subscriptions and remember Spotify's decisions once (if ever) the US government regains its senses. What ICE is doing is disgusting and what Trump is doing with ICE is scary.

rich_sasha 2 months ago

Th article doesn't clarify... Are the "dangerous illegals [...] rampaging the streets" meant to be immigrants or ICE agents?

locopati 2 months ago

The best time to quit Spotify was years ago when they gave Joe Rogan a huge paycheck. The next best time is now.

  • inemesitaffia 2 months ago

    HBO Max, X, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, LinkedIn and Meta, as well as cable television channels.

  • Gud 2 months ago

    Honestly I don’t get the Joe Rogan hate. Seems like a pretty normal person to me, flaws and all.

    • mingus88 2 months ago

      There are a lot of average people out there. I don’t need to hear their ill informed takes, either.

      I would rather live in a world where we give out quarter of a billion dollar deals to people who do better, but that’s not the world we live in, so you’ll just have to deal with Rogan critics instead.

      • thunky 2 months ago

        > There are a lot of average people out there. I don’t need to hear their ill informed takes, either

        Do those people host podcasts doing long form interviews with interesting people too?

    • locopati 2 months ago

      he hosted anti-trans guests that normalized trans hate

    • tastyface 2 months ago

      Rogan's endorsement might have pushed the Trump administration to victory. Easy to hate someone who directly contributed to the end of democracy in your country. (Though I guess the blame is more with the millions of people who take advice from a self-professed meathead.)

    • bryanlarsen 2 months ago

      Joe Rogan probably did more to normalize fascism in the US than anybody. Despite those views being held by a large minority of people in the US, it was still seen as fringe. Whether Rogan was cause or symptom of fascism becoming mainstream, he's understandably widely hated for it.

      • Gud 2 months ago

        How so? To me Joe Rogan doesn’t appear to be a fascist.

        Genuinely curious how people can think Joe Rogan is a fascist.

      • chucksta 2 months ago

        In what ways did he do more to normalize fascism in the US than _ANYBODY_ else?

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