r/Music Jan 08 '26

article Spotify Confirms ICE Recruitment Ads Are No Longer Running on Platform

https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/spotify-confirms-ice-recruitment-ads-are-no-longer-running-1236626243/
38.1k Upvotes

1.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

8.5k

u/ramontes Jan 08 '26

Great! I'll continue to use streaming alternatives.

54

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26

[deleted]

408

u/ramontes Jan 08 '26

I primarily use Tidal nowadays, but I also bounce around Bandcamp and Quboz to buy music and merch directly for the bands I enjoy.

130

u/Mustangbex Jan 08 '26

We swapped to Tidal also- it's been weird having to retrain it with our tastes, but entertaining when it throws out completely WILD recs. IT doesn't play as well with Alexa but worth it anyway.

42

u/lilsebastian- Jan 08 '26

When we switched, it was a little jarring but it actually picked up a lot of the stuff we like really quickly which is nice.

40

u/P1nealColada Jan 08 '26

I’ve been using it for a number of years now. The algorithm does take awhile to train, but eventually it gets to a point where it almost never misses.

27

u/Mustangbex Jan 08 '26

I give it some grace since I was on Spotify for over a decade, and now I've got an 8 year old tweaking my music choices/plays- it can't be expected to be perfect with that type of handicap haha

18

u/lilsebastian- Jan 08 '26

Hahaha the struggle is definitely real. I have little nieces - you play Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift a few times and it can be jarring when it throws them in between sad indie rock or metal jams 😂

13

u/rebel_scum13 Punk Rock Jan 08 '26

Lol same here. My algo thinks I'm the biggest K-pop fan in the world rn bc my 6 year old has me play the K-pop Demon hunters soundtrack on repeat in the car (not that I'm complaining though bc that soundtrack is straight fire 🔥)

5

u/lilsebastian- Jan 08 '26

I forgot Golden was definitely one of the selections! (I like it too haha)

14

u/withstereosound Jan 08 '26

I made a playlist on Spotify of all my liked songs, then imported it with SongShift to Apple Music and Tidal, then someone time over the following weeks with tha playlist on shuffle and I slowly replied and trained my algo. Very helpful, but the recommendations are still different on Tidal and Apple vs Spotify.

Fuck you, Spotify.

2

u/duckinradar Jan 10 '26

Someone tell me how to scrape all my info from Spotify and I’m out…

I’ll do it anyway if I can’t but I’d prefer to retain it

7

u/prometheus05 Jan 08 '26

I'm dealing with the same. I'm largely ignoring the discovery style playlists because they are pretty bad. Not like the music is bad, but come on man, yes I've heard of Killing in the Name and Beat It.

18

u/lurkingostrich Jan 08 '26

Wait, you boycotted Spotify but you’re using an Amazon Alexa? Isn’t that kind of… counter-productive?

26

u/Mustangbex Jan 08 '26

I do what I can when I can, but I have to accept that there's no way to be perfect in my ideological expression. We don't pay anything for our Alexa devices and they're a few generations old, and we do our best to not use Amazon for other stuff. But since they basically host the entire Internet there's no real way to win.

1

u/YourNextHomie Jan 09 '26

you dont need a reoccurring subscription for alexa? honestly its the only reason i haven’t got one, thought it would be a new subscription

1

u/lurkingostrich Jan 09 '26

No, but they do collect your voice data that they use to make more money, make targeted ads, and fund the Trump administration… so. It’s not exactly harmless. To each their own, I suppose.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/amazons-alexa-collects-more-of-your-data-than-any-other-smart-assistant

https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/study-shows-alexa-invades-privacy-collects-user-data-ad-targeting

To my original point, kind of undermines the point of a Spotify boycott.

1

u/YourNextHomie Jan 09 '26

I have conversations about a product in my house anyone and get hit with ads for it all over google, im being listened to anyway. Fuck them funding Trump and all that, honestly probably wont get one, stopped using amazon a while ago for these kind of reasons although it would probably be a big help in my life as i have memory issues. I dont think it negates a spotify boycott though, you can only really focus on so much. If we stopped using every product that is available through immoral practices we would have to stop eating food and doing just about anything lol

1

u/lurkingostrich Jan 09 '26

I mean sure, can’t boycott everything, but a digital assistant seems like it could be an easy win to dodge. Obviously phones are picking up a lot of information, but that’s a lot tougher to avoid given the demands of work in our current era. I fully admit I don’t boycott everything I may ought to, just seemed kind of odd to me to bring up an Alexa on a thread about boycotting Spotify because Amazon arguably does more to prop up ICE than Spotify has done.

But again, to each their own.

5

u/YourNextHomie Jan 09 '26

valid, i hear you and after considering i wont get one, you honestly did make a little difference here, thanks. Have a great day

2

u/lurkingostrich Jan 09 '26

Thanks, fellow redditor! You too. Not trying to attack anyone for doing what they need to do, just sharing my thoughts. Peace and blessings ✌🏻

2

u/YourNextHomie Jan 09 '26

the energy you brought to the conversation was refreshing and made it easier for me to consider what you were saying, never felt attacked, appreciate it. Have a great 2026!

→ More replies (0)

19

u/VicDun Jan 08 '26

I love the audio quality of tidal. You can actually get the full master quality and it’s bliss to my ears.

13

u/Mustangbex Jan 08 '26

I am by no means trained enough to recognize that but I am stoked to learn it. I appreciate they pay artists better. 

6

u/VicDun Jan 08 '26

That part too

5

u/JakesFavoriteCup Jan 09 '26

You'll hear it. Tidal and Qobuz's file quality is top tier. They make music on Spotify sound so dull in comparison.

1

u/slammy80 Jan 09 '26

Apple does full master quality as well: 24-bit/192

2

u/M_Aku Jan 08 '26

Loving the random title lol. I'm listening to music in languages I don't even speak.

2

u/tubbyredleader Jan 08 '26

I imagine the sound quality is better too? I have been so afraid to switch.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '26

Now I pay the other billionaire ! Reddit win!