"But she’s doing an interview for a streaming service?" — Internet reacts as Björk calls Spotify "the worst thing that has happened to musicians"

Icelandic singer Björk sat for an interview with Swedish outlet Dagens Nyheter, published on Thursday, January 23, 2025. In the interview, the singer primarily promoted the live stream of her new Apple TV+ concert film Cornucopia, which debuted on Friday, January 24.

During the interview, the 59-year-old slammed Spotify and called it the "worst thing that has happened to musicians." The remark was made after she revealed that she was more interested in creating new music rather than conducting tours. The singer further said:

"The live part is, and always will be, a big part of what I do. But I’m lucky because I no longer have to raise money on touring, which younger musicians are often forced to do."

Björk then added:

"In that respect, Spotify is probably the worst thing that has happened to musicians. The streaming culture has changed an entire society and an entire generation of artists."

This isn't the first time that the singer criticized the streaming app. Back in 2015, in an interview with Fast Company, she spoke about her decision to not stream her then-released album, Vulnicura, on Spotify. According to her, it felt disrespectful to make the music available for free when the artist spent years creating it.

Her recent statements, on the other hand, gained massive traction on social media. Under @PopCrave's tweet about the same, an X user wrote:

"But she’s doing an interview for a streaming service?"

Another user commented:

"She's mad because nobody is streaming her."

"Björk shares her opinion on the streaming era to…………. Apple Music," added a tweet.

While many didn't seemingly agree with the singer's opinions, some netizens had a similar point of view. A user wrote on X:

"Streaming has devalued music. music should have worth. it is something to be appreciated."

"Does streaming empower artists with exposure or exploit them for profit? Björk might have a point here," read a tweet.

"She's not wrong," commented another netizen.

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Björk previously criticized Spotify and even denied streaming her album Vulnicura back in 2015

As aforementioned, this recent interview wasn't the first time Björk had spoken against the music streaming platform. Back in 2015, she decided not to release her album Vulnicura for streaming. She told Fast Company that it felt disrespectful to present music for free after spending years creating it.

The singer, however, believed that Netflix was a good model. She additionally mentioned:

"You go first to the cinema and after a while it will come on Netflix. Maybe that’s the way to go with streaming. It’s first physical and then maybe you can stream it later."

She added that streaming on Spotify seemed "insane" to her. Meanwhile, over the years, several artists have criticized or called out Spotify. In 2014, pop star Taylor Swift decided to remove all her music from the streaming platform.

According to Taylor, the creators were not fairly compensated by the platform for their music. Additionally, in November 2024, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante called out Spotify and described it as a place "where music goes to die."

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