An organisation known as Anna’s Archive claims to have scraped just under 300TB of material from Spotify, including approximately 86 million audio files and roughly 256 million rows of metadata, such as artist names, albums, and track information. The group, already notorious in publishing for linking to pirated books and academic papers, describes the operation as an attempt to create the “world’s first preservation archive for music” by backing up the tracks people listen to most on the platform.​

Spotify, which hosts more than 100 million tracks and has over 700 million users worldwide, has confirmed that unauthorised scraping took place but says the data accessed does not represent its full catalogue. The company says it has shut down accounts it believes were involved, and has stressed that user data was not part of the incident.

Anna’s Archive claims the collection covers about 99.6% of all listening activity on Spotify, effectively mirroring the platform’s most‑played music rather than every obscure upload. The group has indicated that it intends to prioritise releases based on popularity metrics taken from Spotify itself, gradually expanding the set with additional metadata and artwork.

Framing the project as a cultural safeguard, the activists argue that entrusting the bulk of recorded music history to a handful of private streaming services leaves it vulnerable to corporate collapse, policy changes or geopolitical crises.  In a recent blog post, Annas Archive explained that by circulating complete copies of widely streamed songs outside those ecosystems, they say they are protecting cultural heritage in the same way that underground text archives claim to preserve knowledge.

“Generally speaking, music is already fairly well preserved. There are many music enthusiasts in the world who digitized their CD and LP collections, shared them through torrents or other digital means, and meticulously catalogued them. However, these existing efforts have some major issues:

1. Over-focus on the most popular artists. There is a long tail of music which only gets preserved when a single person cares enough to share it. And such files are often poorly seeded.
2. Over-focus on the highest possible quality. Since these are created by audiophiles with high end equipment and fans of a particular artist, they chase the highest possible file quality (e.g. lossless FLAC). This inflates the file size and makes it hard to keep a full archive of all music that humanity has ever produced.
3. No authoritative list of torrents aiming to represent all music ever produced. An equivalent of our book torrent list (which aggregate torrents from LibGen, Sci-Hub, Z-Lib, and many more) does not exist for music.

This Spotify scrape is our humble attempt to start such a “preservation archive” for music. Of course Spotify doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a great start.”

Critics in the music business see something far closer to large‑scale piracy, warning that free, high‑quality torrents of mainstream catalogues could undercut subscription platforms that now underpin artist and label revenues. 

Beyond lost streams, one of the biggest concerns is that the 300TB trove could become an enormous unlicensed training dataset for generative AI systems. The combination of audio files, metadata, and more could fuel machine‑learning pipelines without the need for negotiated licences. 

Spotify has said it is actively investigating and working to prevent further dissemination of the scraped material, while reiterating that using illicit methods to access protected audio is a breach of its terms and of copyright law. 

It is that exciting time of year that people have been eagerly waiting for, no we are not talking about christmas.

Spotify Wrapped is officially out!

At the end of each year, Spotify collects data of every single user’s listening activity to compile into a finalised analysis of their top genres, artists, songs, albums, and podcasts. You are bound to flick through countless instagram stories as the site is already overflowing with screenshots of peoples results.

Spotify holds hosts to an eye watering 700 million users worldwide all of whom use the application as their primary streaming platform. Spotify themselves round up a summary of the worlds decided top artists. 2025’s top artist is Bad Bunny, the artist dominated the leaderboard rounding up 19.8 billion streams this year. Following him in the leaderboard is Taylor Swift in second place, then The Weeknd in third, Drake in fourth and Billie Eilish taking the fifth spot.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Spotify News (@spotifynews)

The top 5 songs globally are revealed to be-

1. ‘Die With A Smile’, by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars

2. ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’, by Billie Eilish

3. ‘APT’, by ROSE and Bruno Mars

4. ‘Ordinary,’ by Alex Warren

5. ‘DtMF’, by Bad Bunny

Spotify wrapped landed into users devices at 13:00 GMT on Wednesday. The collection of data is presented in a fun and playful formation, often presented in personality-driven ways urging people to share their top track results on social media,

Spotify first introduced the simple wrapped phenomenon in 2015, and it has only blossomed from there on. It is an incredible marketing tactic pushing people to use the apps streaming services more to differ their results. This leads to those that do not use the app to develop FOMO and feel inclined to get involved. The data is typically harvested right up until October allowing people enough time to get their minutes listened up to however impressive they may deem. It seems silly that people use this as a means to show off but it sure as hell works in Spotify’s favour.

Wrapped typically comes out between the last week of November each year or leans into the first week of December. Spotify Wrapped typically includes the five musicians, songs, and musical genres that a user has listened to the most throughout the previous year. Artists themselves also have access to the response of their craft with their own version of wrapped displaying which of their tracks that fans favoured.

Following in Spotify’s footsteps several other competing streaming services have introduced their own version of the data compiling. Apple Music released its ‘Replay’ feature in 2019, Tidal launched its ‘My Rewind’ feature in 2020, Youtube Music has introduced ‘Your Music Journey’ and Deezer has their own variant known as ‘MyDeezerYear’. All great attempts however none are yet to recreate the cultural impact of Spotify Wrapped.

A strategic marketing tactic that provides users with a little digital christmas present in the run up to the festive season. Spotify Wrapped offers an internal moment of self reflection in the form of listening activity and may (or may not) bring people closer together via music preferences

Users across Reddit, TikTok, and Spotify’s own community forums began posting that they had heard audio spots recruiting for ICE while listening to music or podcasts on Spotify. One user described hearing:

According to The Independent, “millions of dangerous illegals are rampaging the streets. Join ICE today.” 

Comment
byu/ebradio from discussion
inindieheads

Another user, based in the UK, reported hearing the ad during a UK-based podcast and felt it was deeply offensive and inappropriate for a non-U.S. audience. Spotify responded by acknowledging the ads: “This advertisement is part of a broad campaign the U.S. Government is running across television, streaming and online channels… The content does not violate our advertising policies.”

Many listeners objected to the aggressive, militaristic tone of the ads, which frame immigrants or “illegals” as threats and promote ICE in strongly patriotic terms. This was seen as dehumanising and polarising. Some users argue that Spotify should not host ads spreading political propaganda or recruitment drives for a law-enforcement / immigration-enforcement body, especially given the global nature of the platform and the scale of the audience. Independent record labels such as ANTI‑ Records and Epitaph Records publicly called on Spotify to remove the ICE ads, stating that “artists and fans deserve platforms that reflect the values of the culture they sustain.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by All Time Entertainment (@alltimeentertainmentsk)

The controversy raises questions about how streaming platforms vet advertising content and whether they should apply different ethical standards when serving ads for government agencies. While advertising for job recruitment is common, in this case the messaging is charged with immigration-enforcement, nationalism and a heavy “us-versus-them” framing, which makes it more than a benign job listing.

Spotify has stated that the ads comply with its advertising policies and that users can provide feedback (thumbs up/thumbs down) on individual ads. However, the company has so far refused to remove the ICE recruitment ads despite mounting pressure, once again proving that ethical business practices are not a priority at Spotify.

One of Spotify’s central concerns is that the majority of these spam tracks are uploaded in hopes of collecting payouts with any stream played for more than 30 seconds generating a form of micro-royalties. This potentially diverts income away from legitimate artists. The sheer scale of the 75 million removals emphasises the challenge this poses to Spotify’s vast public catalogue.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Spotify for Artists (@spotifyforartists)

Beyond spam filtering, Spotify is set to expand upon its existing policies around vocal impersonation and deepfakes, permitting such work only with direct authorisation from the original artist. The platform also plans to back up a voluntary disclosure standard (via DDEX), allowing any track to indicate how AI was used, whether in vocals, instrumentation, or post-production.

However, the company has also clearly stated that it is not banning AI music outright. Rather, it hopes to distinguish between responsible, creative experimental use and against exploitative practices. Spotify maintains that AI-generated content remains a minimal presence on the service and insists it is not significantly affecting overall streaming habits or royalties paid to human creators.

These measures arrive at a time when generative AI tools such as Suno and Udio have made it easier than ever to rapidly produce synthetic audio. This trend places not just Spotify, but all major streaming platforms under scrutiny as they confront the intertwined issues of authenticity, identity, and legitimacy in music catalogues.

For many artists, the new protections could provide a welcome safeguard against identity theft, diluted royalties, and uncredited mimicry. Yet questions remain: how well will the filters perform in practice? Will smaller independent creators be mistakenly caught in the dragnet? And will disclosure standards gain real traction across the industry, or stay voluntary and unevenly applied?

As Spotify begins rolling out these changes in the weeks ahead, the industry is watching closely. The debate over AI’s role in music is no longer theoretical—it is unfolding in real time, on one of streaming’s biggest stages.

In a statement released via the Band’s Instagram, they announced their plans to counteract what is in their words a “genocidal state in Israel.” this includes removing their music from Spotify and all other streaming services in the region.

The Band said the following:

“We’d appeal to all musicians to transfer their sadness, anger and artistic contributions into a coherent, reasonable & vital action to end the unspeakable hell being visited upon the Palestinians hour after hour.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Massive Attack (@massiveattackofficial)

“In 1991 the scourge of apartheid violence fell from South Africa, aided from a distance by public boycotts, protests, & the withdrawal of work by artists, musicians and actors. Complicity with that state was considered unacceptable. In 2025 the same now applies to the genocidal state of Israel. ”

‘No Music For Genocide’ say their movement, which they call a ‘cultural boycott of Israel, is not only for renowned artists like Massive Attack, but for those at every level of the industry:

“While big earners and major label artists also have a critical role to play in this fight, the goals of No Music For Genocide stretch beyond raw financial impact. Each of us can collectively push our different scenes, communities, and cultures toward a ‘new normal’ in which pro-Palestine efforts are common sense.”

“This initiative is borderless and open to all artists and labels who want to boycott. We hope it leads to additional efforts against the music industry’s complicity.”

There have been instances of artists removing material from Spotify in weeks gone, due largely to the business ventures of CEO Daniel Ek. A 693 million dollar investment in Helsing, a defence company located in Europe, has sparked mass controversy.

Helsing is a company that uses AI to analyse weaponry, and even develops military drones itself. Its involvement in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, alongside the war in Gaza have caused many artists to pull their music from Spotify, particularly in conflict regions.

The band made the announcement on July 25, stating that none of their new or existing music will be available on Spotify going forward. Their latest release – a raw and experimental collection of demos – omitted the streaming platform, accompanied by a blunt message to fans on social media: “out everywhere except Spotify (fuck Spotify). You can bootleg it if you wanna.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by kinggizzard (@kinggizzard)

Then, explaining the decision, the band later elaborated: “Hello friends. A PSA to those unaware: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek invests millions in AI military drone technology. We just removed our music from the platform. Can we put pressure on these Dr. Evil tech bros to do better? Join us on another platform.”

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek – whose company has faced repeated criticism over artist royalties and controversial podcast deals – has served as chairman of Helsing since 2021. In 2023, he helped led a $1.07 billion funding round for the company. Helsing’s work includes integrating AI into military operations, such as real-time battlefield mapping and data processing for NATO-aligned European militaries. The ethical implications of such partnerships, especially when backed by figures associated with global entertainment platforms, have sparked outrage across creative communities.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – who currently have 27 studio albums, live albums and compilations available on the platform – have now joined the growing musician-led exodus from Spotify. The protest is being driven not just by dissatisfaction with royalty pay-outs, but by broader concerns about how technology and creativity intersect with the global military-industrial complex.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

  A post shared by Deerhoof (@deerhoof)

Experimental rock acts like Xiu Xiu and Deerhoof have also recently withdrawn from the platform. Californian art-rock band Xiu Xiu recently announced on that it was taking all of its music off “garbage hole violent Armageddon portal Spotify” as they “don’t want [their] music killing people”.

These artists are urging fans to follow them to Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Tidal, or other platforms more aligned with ethical transparency and artist-first models. As backlash against Big Tech continues to rise, King Gizzard’s bold move sets a precedent for music as both a political tool and a moral stand.

When divulging into the group’s continued prominence in the metal scene, the conversation quickly transpired into the frontman’s perspective of music streaming services ruining the culture and consumption of music. Filth contextualised his opinion by referring to his own music collection and how much consumption had changed since the band’s emergence in 1991. The frontman stated: “Speaking for myself, I always saw radio the same way back in the 90s, and so I ended up amassing a personal collection of about 2000 CDs. And I miss the days when there were physical charts… But nowadays it’s like a fuc**ng free-for-all.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cradle of Filth (@cradleoffilth)

Filth’s comments also alerted to the ideal that consumption and streaming culture varied from genre to genre. In doing so, he admired consumers of metal for being “loyal” and avoiding streaming services, which has subsequently allowed the metal scene to remain “intact”.

It appears the ‘Nymphetamine Fix’ vocalist’s frustrations stem from the suspected underpaying of artists by streaming services, arguably devaluing their art and making music a financially insufficient career. Filth refers to the aftermath of the pandemic: “And I know so many people from big bands that since the pandemic have gone, ‘You know what, I’m taking a proper job. So you’ll see me less often, we’ll still be doing albums, but probably once every five years’. And it’s because, music it’s just seen like daylight robbery.”

He continued to argue that there’s a heightened entitlement when it comes to music that doesn’t exist with other commodities. Filth compared the culture surrounding streaming to an individual entering a supermarket and helping themselves to produce for free. Inferring the outrage that would rise out of this audacity wouldn’t be present when music is concerned as it isn’t physically perceived in the same way. Therefore, the lack of physicality in streaming music portrays the media as a free-for-all.

This isn’t the first time Daniel Lloyd Davey, known professionally as Dani Filth, has openly slammed music streaming platforms. Back in 2023, he referred to Spotify as “the biggest criminals in the world” over their monetary practices, after revealing Cradle of Filth had 26 million plays the year prior, while the frontman “got about 20 pounds”.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cradle of Filth (@cradleoffilth)

Perhaps Filth isn’t the only person to share this mindset. After all, 2024 saw the first increase in physical music in 20 years.  The Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA) found the consumption of CDs and vinyl were at a new high, following a new culture of collecting physical media.

Cradle of Filth will be touring the UK this summer, access tickets here. Pre-order ‘The Screaming of the Valkyries’ here.

According to a new mini documentary based on the genre called DnB: In for Life, statistics based on user data show that their “yearly average streams of the Drum ‘N’ Bass genre have increased by 94 percent since 2021”.

The short film produced by Spotify traces the evolution of the UK sound and subculture, featuring big names in the scene like Charlie Tee, Kanine, Sota, Singer and DJ Flight. In the documentary, Charlie praises its freeing nature and fandom, describing it as “the most exclusive universal club – but the only criteria is that you have to love the music.”

An article from MixMag notes Spotify’s Top 10 artists in the scene – Chase & Status, Bou, Rudimental, goddard., Sub Focus, Charlotte Plank, Skepsis, Hybrid Minds, SHY FX and Nia Archives.

It also notes the most streamed D’n’B tracks of the year – Chase & Status and their collaboration with Stormzy, “BACKBONE”, as well as Rudimental and Skepsis with “Green and Gold” feat. Charlotte Plank and Riko Dan, and goddard. and Cat Burns with “Wasted Youth”.

Research from How Music Charts marks a rising interest in the sound – the most followed electronic music playlist on Spotify, called Mint, saw an increase in the number of drum and bass tracks added annually, and the audiences for Spotify’s “Massive Drum & Bass” and “Jungle Classics” playlists both doubling.

Data shows that a younger crowd are being drawn into the dance genre, with 68% of listeners below the age of 34. This could be for several reasons – a crop of new musicians and DJ’s championing the sound, popularity on social media and an increased diversity in both style and performers.

Artists like PinkPantheress, Nia Archives and Piri & Tommy have found success by reimagining the breakbeats and tempos of the D’n’B sound with dreamy vocals, smooth instrumentation and pop-style song structures. Nia’s album Silence Is Loud saw her mix jungle rhythms with indie rock influences, and Pink Pantheress has incorporated hyperpop and alternative flavours into her eclectic style that she describes as “a form of D’n’B that’s acceptable to listen to at home.”

In an interview with DJ Flight from the BBC, she shared her excitement for a new wave of female artists on the D’n’B scene, saying “it’s so incredible that there’s so many women coming through now, because with the internet and that visibility, it’s like they can’t be stopped”.

Social media has played a part in the expansion of electronic music as a whole – Tik Tok has mentioned that electronic music is one of the apps most celebrated genres, with fans and artists using its features to share and remix music, create trends and post their favourite live sets. The company says that the tags for “#ElectronicMusic” video creation is up 70% this year, and “#DnB” is up 50%.

@boilerroomtv Best of 2023: @chaseandstatus • Boiler Room: London #boilerroom #boilerroommoment #newmusic #electronicmusic #rave #ravetok #dnb #drumandbass #chaseandstatus ♬ original sound – Boiler Room

While the popularity of D’n’B has flourished, the nightclub culture that cultivated the genre is dying in the UK, with the Night Time Industries Association predicting that unless action is taken soon, UK clubbing could be “extinct” by the end of the decade. An average of three clubs a week are shutting permanently, and if this pattern continues then all spaces in the UK will have disappeared by 2030.

DNB: In for Life, the mini documentary from Spotify and Drumsheds is out now and available to watch on Youtube.

don’t like how music is becoming less and less about albums

not a single mention of albums on Spotify wrapped

love a full album listen personally

— Jed (@Jed__28) December 4, 2024

apparently spotify laid off a lot of workers and used AI to create the wrapped this year instead no wonder it sucks… pic.twitter.com/jRvbHW9qGq — noah (@weremytown13) December 4, 2024

Top Streamed Artists

It seems the UK loves US artists with three out of five being American, and two Canadian. It’s no surprise that Taylor Swift has taken the top spot again with her incredible Era’s Tour and release of the album “The Tortured Poets Department” and an extended 31 song long version of the album, aptly titled “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology”. Popular as ever are Drake and the Weeknd, both of whom appeared on this list for 2023, with Drake retaining his spot as the second most listened-to artist, though the weekend has dropped from third to fifth.

The Five Top Streamed Artists in the UK:

1. Taylor Swift
2. Drake
3. Kanye West
4. Billie Eilish
5. The Weeknd

With Kanye West (with his release of the album trilogy “Vultures”) and Billie Eilish (with her hit album “Hit Me Hard and Soft”) taking the third and fourth spots respectively, which means no British artists appear in the top five this year, replacing both Ed Sheeran and Arctic Monkeys.

Top Streamed Songs

Interestingly, none of the artists featured in the top five streamed songs in the UK this year were present in last year’s top five. Last year three out of five artists were British, with the most streamed song being “Sprinter” by Dave and Central Cee. This year the most streamed song is the lyricially complex, alternative/folk song “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan, originally released in 2022. Taking second place is, unsurprisingly, Sabrina Carpenter with “Espresso”. The catchy pop hit was released as a single this year in support of the equally successful full-length album “Short n’ Sweet”, which marked Carpenter’s big break in the UK. The track currently has 1.6 billion streams on Spotify worldwide. Spots three and four are also taken by US artists Benson Boone and Teddy Swims, with the fourth most streamed song being “Too Sweet” by Hozier. The track is the only one originating from an artist originating from the UK, with Hozier being Irish, and he happens to be the only British/Irish artist to appear on any of the top five statistics covered in this article.

The Five Top Streamed Songs in the UK:

1. “Stick Season” – Noah Kahan
2. “Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter
3. “Beautiful Things” – Benson Boone
4. “Too Sweet” – Hozier
5. “Lose Control” – Teddy Swims

Top Streamed Albums in the UK

Following with the trends of the previous lists, the most streamed albums in the UK come from only US artists, with two coming from Taylor Swift. Interestingly, Noah Kahan’s album “Stick Season” takes the third spot despite being released in October of 2022; similarly, “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” was released in 2023 yet still made it onto this year’s list. Carpenter capitalised on the success of single “Espresso” with the release of hits such as “Please Please Please” and “Taste”, both of which also charted well in the UK. Billie Eilish’s album “Hit Me Hard and Soft” justifies her spot on the list, with the viral success of her track “Birds of a Feather” from the album.

The Five Top Streamed Albums in the UK:

1. “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” – Taylor Swift
2. “Short n’ Sweet” – Sabrina Carpenter
3. “Stick Season” – Noah Kahan
4. “Hit Me Hard and Soft” – Billie Eilish
5. “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” – Taylor Swift

How do the UK’s most streamed artists, songs and albums compare to your Spotify Wrapped? More information can be found here, and last year’s statistics can be found here. Find your Spotify Wrapped 2024 here.

The fund, which is part of Spotify’s ‘Creator Equity Fund Program’, comes at a critical time. According to Youth Music’s recent ‘Sound of the Next Generation Report’, two-thirds of grassroots music spaces are focused on short-term survival, while a quarter face potential closure. Rising costs, dwindling funding, and increased demand for services have compounded the challenges for these spaces, which are crucial for young people’s mental health and artistic growth.

“The grassroots music sector is the beating heart of our world-famous music industry.” We’re teaming up with @YouthMusic to make sure it stays that way—here’s how. https://t.co/SNENwSiApH

— Spotify News (@SpotifyNews) November 27, 2024

Spotify’s funding will support diverse projects, such as a youth-led studio in a coastal town and a music initiative for minoritised women and marginalised genders. Dina Gabriel, Spotify’s Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Impact, emphasised the importance of these spaces in nurturing future talent, stating: “By working with Youth Music, we can safeguard these spaces and the opportunities they create.”  

Grassroots music venues are not just performance spaces—they are cultural and community cornerstones, employing locals and providing a ‘third place’ for people. Yet, financial instability has led to widespread closures, with 125 venues closing their doors in 2023. Rising rents and utility bills have forced many operators to consider drastic measures, threatening the foundation of the UK’s live music industry.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Youth Music (@youthmusicuk)

Government interventions, such as a recently proposed voluntary £1 ticket levy on arena shows, aim to redistribute funds to struggling grassroots venues. Overseen by a sector-linked charity, the levy’s effectiveness will be reviewed after 12 months, with potential to become mandatory.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy highlighted the vital role of such spaces: “The grassroots music sector is the beating heart of our world-famous music industry. It is vital for emerging artists to hone their talents, as well as providing thousands of jobs and spaces for young people to explore their love of music.” She praised the Spotify-Youth Music partnership as a step toward protecting the talent pipeline.

Elsewhere, initiatives in Merseyside and the West Midlands are exploring long-term solutions. £6.75m of investment in Liverpool City Region’s MusicFutures will fund training, technology integration, and sustainability projects, in a push to ensure the sector will no longer need to rely on outside support.

While the Spotify and Youth Music fund addresses immediate needs, questions remain about the long-term sustainability of grassroots spaces. Charity leaders and government officials agree that systemic change is needed to ensure these hubs don’t rely solely on short-term funding.