“I disagree with their funding of AI weapons, I disagree with their platforming of the likes of Alex Jones”: Mike Vennart on why he won’t put his music on Spotify

Mike Vennart released a brand new solo album, Forgiveness & The Grain, back in February, but you won’t find it on Spotify. The musician – also known for his work in Empire State Bastard, Oceansize, and Biffy Clyro – says he disagrees “with streaming culture at large”.

The record marks his fourth full-length solo release under the fitting name of Vennart, and although you can access the record through some platforms such as Bandcamp, elsewhere Vennart’s solo projects are not widely available online to stream.

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In the new print issue of Prog, Vennart explains his reasoning for not putting his music on the platform. “I disagree with [Spotify’s] funding of AI weapons, I disagree with their platforming of the likes of Alex Jones [far-right radio show host and conspiracy theorist],” he says.

“I disagree with the streaming culture at large, but I understand it and I respect it. Spotify would be great for if you’re craving a live profile, maybe you wanted to sell some concert tickets. I’m not playing any gigs. I have no plans to play any gigs. So I just don’t want to be in that kind of company, man. And I don’t have to be.”

Speaking to Guitar.com last year, Vennart also discussed Empire State Bastard’s against-the-grain decision to divorce themselves from major label band operation: “You don’t have to adhere to what people expect from you, what record companies or management might expect from you, [when they all] want you to write a hit,” he said.

Elsewhere in the interview, he explained that when he began piecing together those early riffs for the first ESB record – Rivers Of Hersey – he did so with the intention of channelling a bunch of anger he felt towards the politically far-right, after an “altercation” he went through.

“I can’t really go into it too much because I don’t want to give airtime to the [people] involved. It wasn’t a distressing time [as such], but more an infuriating time. I couldn’t really do very much about it other than channel my frustrations into making something fucking aggro.”

Find out more about Vennart.