Godspeed You! Black Emperor remove their back catalogue from Spotify and Tidal

Posted On August 18, 2025August 18, 2025

The Canadian post-rock collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor have decided to remove all their music from a number of streaming platforms, including Spotify and Tidal.

The band’s entire back catalogue has been wiped from both Spotify and Tidal, while only two of their albums, F♯ A♯ ∞ from 1998 and Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven from 2000, have remained on Apple Music for the time being. The only platform where all of their music is still available is the artist-owned Bandcamp.

However, a representative from Kranky Records, where the two records were produced, confirmed to Pitchfork that they are in a process of currently being removed from the platform, adding: “Kranky has always granted artists control over how their music is presented and disseminated.”

Godspeed You! Black Emperor have not yet spoken publicly on their decision to remove their music from most streaming platforms, but it comes amid a number of other bands, including King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, leaving Spotify.

This was due to the company’s CEO, Daniel EK, investing in a German weapons company which uses AI to create drones and artillery, which has sparked major controversy as well as many of Spotify’s other questionable moral principles.

The platform has long been criticised by artists by the miniscule profit margins it affords them, with roughly $0.003 being earned per single stream. Furthermore, Spotify has also demonetised artists with less than 1,000 streams per month, making it almost impossible for smaller artists to create headway on the streamer.

This has led both artists and fans to consider which other platforms may provide the most ethical and affordable alternatives, with streaming services such as Tidal and Bandcamp being considered among the best options. However, in the case of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, their reasons for still removing their music from the former have not been revealed.

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