Beneath the headlines of individual artist boycotts, a deeper and more organized rebellion is taking shape, one that reframes the fight against Spotify as a classic labor struggle. The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW), born from the crucible of the pandemic, is transforming the scattered discontent of individual creators into the focused, collective power of an organized labor force.
UMAW’s co-founder, Joey DeFrancesco of the punk band Downtown Boys, embodies this shift in strategy. While he supports the “splashes” made by individual boycotts, he stresses their “limits” and champions the union’s core principle: to “act collectively.” This approach treats musicians not as independent entrepreneurs, but as workers in a digital gig economy, facing the same kind of exploitation as rideshare drivers or delivery couriers who are paid fractions of a dollar for their labor.
The union’s power has already been demonstrated. Their successful campaign, in coalition with other groups, to pressure the massive SXSW festival to drop the U.S. Army and weapons manufacturers as sponsors proved that solidarity could achieve concrete results that a lone artist could not. This victory was a clear shot across the bow of the entire industry.
Now, UMAW has its sights set on a larger prize: systemic reform. Their primary goal is the passage of the Living Wages for Musicians Act, a bill that would essentially create a “digital minimum wage” for streams. This moves the fight from the court of public opinion to the halls of Congress, seeking to codify fair pay into law. It is a demand not for charity, but for just compensation for labor.
This is what makes the current anti-Spotify movement fundamentally different from past protests. It is no longer just a collection of famous artists making a statement; it is a burgeoning labor movement finding its voice. The sound you hear is not just the silence of deleted catalogs; it is the rising chorus of solidarity.
