Thursday have taken a public stand against digital service provider Spotify. The New Jersey post-hardcore band issued a new statement today, October 16th, calling on the streamer to, ‘remove any and all ICE recruit advertising from its platform.’
Advertisements recently began appearing on the lower tier pricing options for Spotify that seek to recruit new hires for the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. That decision has led to a new round of controversy for the embattled streamer.
Despite the backlash to emerge over the campaign, Spotify stated that they would not be pulling the ads, which began running this week in the United States and have offered a $50,000 signing bonus to those interested in signing up.
A statement from Spotify issued to Newsweek regarding the ads read as follows:
“This advertisement is part of a broad campaign the US government is running across television, streaming, and online channels. The content does not violate our advertising policies. However, users can mark any ad with a thumbs up or thumbs down to help manage their ads preferences.”
With the current immigration policies being enacted by the Trump administration remaining heatedly divisive, the discourse over the ads was immediate. Numerous users have reported deleting the app in protest of the campaign, while artists have also taken to condemning and boycotting the service.
As of press time, Thursday‘s music, including their independently released comeback singles remain available on the service. However, the band did issue the falling call to their fans on social media, urging those unhappy with the ads to raise their voice.
“Thursday is an independent band and we join the wider independent musical community in calling upon Spotify to remove any and all ICE recruitment advertising from its platform.
A single voice is tiny but collective action is mighty, so please join us in publicly asking Spotify to remove all ICE advertising immediately
Write these words back down.”
This latest round of controversy follows numerous artists removing their catalog from Spotify earlier this year in protest of the ties the company’s co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek has had to military technology. That uproar stemmed from investments in military-related companies through his investment company Prima Materia.
Ek is slated to step down from the CEO position at Spotify on January 01st, 2026. He will however remain onboard with the company, transitioning to the role of the company’s Executive Chairman.
