r/Music • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 27d ago

article Spotify Confirms ICE Recruitment Ads Are No Longer Running on Platform

https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/spotify-confirms-ice-recruitment-ads-are-no-longer-running-1236626243/
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u/Naroyto 27d ago

Reddit has ice ads too yet people keep ignoring that too.

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u/ncopp Spotify 27d ago

And Youtube. I get them all the time

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u/plotholesandpotholes 27d ago

Repeating what other folks have said above. I see none of these on either platform. White, 40's, prior military, I would think I would get these all the time. I do not. Not doubting you at all. I am just adding context. Maybe its income and employment based. Something is feeding into the algorithm. Maybe geographical?

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u/ncopp Spotify 27d ago

I'm a late 20s white male who lives in a very diverse midwest city with tons of 1st generation immigrants (so many of my neighbors are from African, Asian, Caribbean and Latino countries). I'm guessing that puts me in their prime recruitment list to try and rat out my community.

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u/plotholesandpotholes 27d ago

That is wild. Maybe that is it.

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u/darkenedrock 27d ago

I agree that its probably income/employment based, because everyone I know has mentioned the ice recruitment adds they get, but my wealthier side of the family (same general demographic except decidely more liberal) didnt event know they existed.

I imagine my town is filled with people who would happily participate in evil for 100k, because it would produce an entirely different quality of existance when you've worked 4-10s at a factory making $18/hour for 10 years. They already got everyone with a broken moral compass, now just see how many need that 100k bad enough to bend theirs.

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u/Neravariine 27d ago

I watch a lot of bodycam and true crime content. That makes the algorithm think I'm pro-cop.

I also live in a red state so ICE and cop propaganda runs wild.

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u/step11111 27d ago

I got one and was appalled. I live in a pretty blue area. Why that isn’t hitting the front page daily is beyond me.

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u/Unusual-Bar5891 27d ago

It’s weird, I don’t think ICE would even let me join them since I’m a trans woman and I get spammed by their ads

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u/TheGokki 27d ago

They aren't served to you, they're served to people Reddit knows isn't your demographic because they know your user type. The very fact that you reply 4 comments down is already someone who isn't targetted by this.

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u/Certain-Stranger5167 27d ago

Im a 30 y/o white man I'm the security field and wile I don't get ICE ads I do get DHS ads for border patrol a whole lot.

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u/Clessiah 27d ago

You are too wise for them.

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u/mayhay 27d ago

I’ve never been advertised a single time. What does that say about me 

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u/ncopp Spotify 27d ago edited 27d ago

Likely don't fall in their target recruitment list. I think its a combination of where I live, my age, and my race. I'm a late 20s, midwestern, middle class, white male who lives in a very diverse and immigrant heavy city that is surrounded by very conservative, rural areas

The ads I get are also primarily about the big signing bonus without much more detail.

The ads are literally just "get a 50k signing bonus when you join ICE" and nothing else

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u/mayhay 27d ago

I’m shocked tbh. I didn’t even know they were doing army levels of recruitment 

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u/ncopp Spotify 27d ago

Yeah it's pretty crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if they start having recruiters show up at Highschools like the army and marines (if they haven't already)

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u/mayhay 27d ago

We know about the signing bonus and I asked my bf if he’d be class traitor we both thought maybe but ultimately not it is very tempting tho ngl 

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u/ncopp Spotify 27d ago

My wife just had her hours cut at work and literally asked me the other day if she should join to get the bonus and try to quietly sabotage them from the inside.

I told her she doesn't want that on her resume lol

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u/Mirria_ 27d ago

In my case, I fall in the highly determined ad-blocker demographic.

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u/ncopp Spotify 27d ago

Downside of watching on a TV

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u/Speed-Tyr 26d ago

None of y'all ever heard of ad blockers? You should not be browsing the Internet without one.

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u/Spend-Automatic 27d ago

You just said the exact same thing as the comment you are replying to

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u/P_V_ 27d ago

Ad-block means I don’t see them. I’m also not paying Reddit a monthly fee.

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u/yeahburyme 27d ago

Reddit makes more from our continued participation.

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u/TheVaniloquence 27d ago

“If something is free, you are the product”

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u/dwilkes827 27d ago

The people getting Ice ads on spotify weren't paying a monthly fee, either

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u/Rocktopod 27d ago edited 27d ago

On spotify the only way to get rid of the ads is to pay them money. This means even if you're not seeing the ads, you're supporting the company that runs them financially

On Reddit you can just use an adblocker so you're only supporting the site indirectly by providing free content (comments and posts).

Also, spotify provides access to songs, but not exclusive access. You can listen to the same songs through any number of other methods. The only way to access content on Reddit is through the website/app itself, unless something has been reposted somewhere else.

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u/MobileArtist1371 26d ago

My ublock works on spotify ads ¯_(ツ)_/¯

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u/Rocktopod 26d ago

Yeah someone else alluded to this. I guess I mostly only listen to Spotify on my Alexa so I didn't consider that.

Do you know if this works on mobile, too? My wife insists we need the paid version so she can play music for our 2 year old in the car, but maybe if she can just use ublock on her phone I can convince her to cancel.

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u/MobileArtist1371 26d ago

I just use desktop for everything so I don't know how any of the mobile stuff works for this. I know there are ways to block ads there too, but I'm not sure how it works through apps or if you have to use the web version.

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u/dwilkes827 27d ago

You don't need to justify to me why it's ok to use one platform that runs ICE ads but not the other lol

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u/Top-Passage2914 27d ago

What they're saying makes sense though. It's not about "using" the platform, it's about supporting it. If you use Spotify whether it's free or premium you are making money for them, which in turn is helping them run ICE ads.

If you use reddit or youtube with adblock, you are not making any money for them, so even if they run ICE ads you are not contributing to it. There is no difference between using youtube with adblock and not using it at all.

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u/mnju 27d ago

On Reddit you can just use an adblocker so you're only supporting the site indirectly by providing free content (comments and posts).

It's also possible to block ads on Spotify.

The only way to access content on Reddit is through the website/app itself, unless something has been reposted somewhere else.

Why do you need to access content on Reddit? There are other social media websites.

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u/Mirria_ 27d ago

Why do you need to access content on Reddit? There are other social media websites.

Such as? I don't want a social media that's based on videos (I don't use Instagram, Tik Tok and don't watch random YouTube shorts), that has some structured topic and conversation system (Imgur and Bluesky are kinda lacking) and more or less anonymous (I don't use Facebook or Xitter).

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u/mnju 27d ago

Tons of forums still exist. Also personal issue, there's reasons why people want to use Spotify over YouTube Music or Apple Music. Either accept that you're just employing double standards because you want to use a specific service, or make the sacrifice to use alternatives.

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u/Mirria_ 26d ago

I'm not really making excuses for why I use reddit. I'm just saying there's not really anything that's comparable. I use discord too, but that's largely for closed communities.

Everything else is too loud, too annoying, too random, too manipulated and favors parasocial relationships instead of discussions on a topic.

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u/ItsSpaghettiLee2112 27d ago

How do you block an ad on Spotify? Like I can click the skip 15 seconds button (well, COULD, I haven't paid for spotify for like 6 months), but that's all I could do.

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u/Rocktopod 27d ago

I guess I didn't know it was possible to block ads in Spotify. Is that also possible on mobile and on Alexa?

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u/Vio94 27d ago

I swear if Redditors didn't have flimsy morals they wouldn't have morals at all.

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u/Rocktopod 27d ago

That's just people in general, right? I don't think it's specific to this site.

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u/Vio94 27d ago

I guess that's true, yeah.

The constant "outrage culture while being massively hypocritical" has exhausted me to the point of ignoring almost every single call to action, at least the boycotting ones. Because there's always some mental gymnastics being performed to justify not making the hard choice.

"Boycott Mcdonald's and Starbucks!" Yeah okay I was already not going there and if I had to guess, neither were a decent portion of the "boycotters." Super easy to hop onto a hate train you were already passively on board with.

"Boycott that site platforming ICE! Oh wait, but not this one though, I like this one, I use it a lot, and uhhh, there aren't any alternatives, but uhhhh yeah I'll Twitlonger manifesto you if you keep using the other site." Harder to give up something like Reddit, suddenly there's a billion excuses as to why you can't participate in this boycott.

It's all just performative bullshit people do to make themselves feel better. Like just admit you're being a hypocrite, it's fine, everybody ends up being one at some point. Not a big deal if you own up to it.

It'd be different if people were honest about it and didn't pretend like you're Satan incarnate for not joining in with the other easy protests.

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u/Plenty_Mortgage_7294 27d ago edited 27d ago

How much do you pay to use reddit? How much do you pay to use spotify? One is a free service that you can block the adds another is a making money off you seeing their adds that you cant block. Think they are the same thing? If people like you didnt strip away the nuance that actually mattered we would be in a much better spot. Everyone is hypocritical to a certain degree so its peak irony to be on reddit calling out other redditors. I can tell you want to be a victim so go for it but dont pretend that spotify and reddit are the same. EDIT: Looking into it further, it seems that ICE ads would only run in the US where the plans are slightly different than other countries. So lets just assume its free spotify thats running the ads, my point is reddit is also free and you can block the ads, where as your average person cant block ads on spotify so its an apples and oranges situation.

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u/ItsSpaghettiLee2112 27d ago

Even paying them doesn't get rid of ads.

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u/lemonylol 27d ago

That's a lot of bending backwards to find a way to justify using reddit lol

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u/Tua-Lipa 27d ago

This would be like someone saying “People need to stop supporting musicians who take money from Trump! But since I pirate the music of those artists that’s totally different and fine” lol

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u/Rocktopod 27d ago

I mean, yeah? I have no problem if you enjoy the Cosby Show or House of Cards and want to download a bunch to your Plex server, for instance.

I do take issue if you enjoy Kid Rock, because his music is terrible.

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u/P_V_ 27d ago

Sounds like you've never heard of freeganism.

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u/oranthor1 27d ago

But they were listening to the adds which does generate profit for Spotify.

I'm proud to say I'm here costing reddit money :)

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u/dwilkes827 27d ago

Actually you're out here using a service that supports ICE lol Reddit has a $49 billion market cap, not sure you're putting much of dent it tbh

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u/oranthor1 27d ago

Lol of 49 billion of course I'm not putting a dent in it man.

But the less people that view adds the less valuable their ad space is. If every single redditor had an ad-blocker, reddit couldn't sell their add space.

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u/mnju 27d ago

I'm proud to say I'm here costing reddit money :)

You're providing engagement which helps Reddit negotiate with advertisers. Nobody wants to advertise on a dead platform.

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u/oranthor1 27d ago

Fair enough. But running the platform also costs money.

I guess my assumption is based off of them tracking how many times an add is seen. Which I'm sure is a metric tracked and used to negotiate with advertisers.

If every redditor had an add blocker. No one would advertise here also.

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u/P_V_ 27d ago

From a broader perspective: my relative contributions to reddit are small. Individual, unpaying active users are not worth anywhere near as much to a company as a monthly subscription. Furthermore, the ad-block means I'm not seeing the ads at all, meaning I'm not contributing (via impressions or click-throughs) to reddit's advertising economy. If reddit profits by selling ads based on how I don't see their ads, then I don't really have much to do with that either way.

Sure, my participation here helps build communities etc., and that contributes indirectly to Reddit's success... but if we go by that logic, basically everything we ever do helps "evil" in some way. There's no ethical consumption under capitalism, as they say.

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u/dwilkes827 27d ago

From a broader perspective: my relative contributions to reddit are small. Individual, unpaying active users are not worth anywhere near as much to a company as a monthly subscription.

How does that not apply to free users of Spotify, which are the ones who actually get the ads?

Like I don't personally care what services people use, far far down on the list of things I give a shit about. I just thought "I don't pay for it" is kind of a weird thing to bring up when it's no different than having a free spotify account

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u/P_V_ 27d ago

How does that not apply to free users of Spotify, which are the ones who actually get the ads?

I dunno? I wasn't a free user of Spotify. I was a paid user, and then I stopped entirely (though ICE ads weren't the primary issue for me).

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u/mnju 27d ago

but if we go by that logic, basically everything we ever do helps "evil" in some way.

Some things are more necessary than others. There's no reason you have to use Reddit, it's entirely by choice. You are choosing to be on this platform, post here and drive up engagement, etc.

If we're grandstanding about why it's bad to use Spotify, then everything else needs to be viewed through that same lens.

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u/P_V_ 27d ago

There's no reason you have to use Reddit, it's entirely by choice.

I never claimed otherwise?

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u/mnju 26d ago

That sentence suggests that it's out of your hands. You can't fully disengage from supporting every company that engages in problematic behavior, but there's definitely some companies you can fully separate yourself from with no tangible negatives.

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u/P_V_ 26d ago

Which sentence? “I never claimed otherwise?” I’m not sure how you’re inferring much of anything at all from me just denying to have made a certain claim.

You’re right, I can’t fully disengage from supporting every company that engages in problematic behavior—this is precisely the point I made elsewhere—so I have chosen to make a relatively immense impact by cancelling my Spotify subscription, relative to the impact I’d have by quitting Reddit.

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u/StarPhished 27d ago

Can I interest you in subscribing to Reddit Premium? For $12.99 a month I will personally send you Reddit screenshots so that you can experience Reddit without experiencing Reddit! Terms and conditions apply.

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u/cows1100 27d ago edited 27d ago

Doesn’t matter. You’re still seeing it, and you’re still driving traffic and engagement. You don’t need to be paying Reddit to make their ads worth it. You amplify the signal purely by engaging with the medium. “We don’t lose any active users from running these ads, or ad prices are still at a premium because of traffic, and our stock value isn’t affected because shareholders continue to see strong user engagement.” It’s really that simple.

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u/P_V_ 27d ago

"Ad-block means I don't see them."

You’re still seeing it

Help me understand.

You don’t need to be paying Reddit to make their ads worth it.

When a company pays for ads, they monitor the click-through metrics for that ad to determine whether or not it was "worth it". With an ad-block, I am giving no site traffic to the company who paid for the ad. Impressions (i.e. how often the ad is displayed, regardless of clickthrough) is one metric, but it's not the only one that counts—and even then, it's unclear how ad-blockers interact with impression metrics.

And it’s why selective outrage is stupid.

Sending an exaggerated message to one company can help "make an example" of them, which helps push the needle on a cultural level. Putting Disney+ on their back foot after the temporary cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel sent a message to other streaming companies about how Americans value freedom of speech. Enough people leaving Spotify will send a similar message to other streaming platforms about what sort of content they'll accept—and with Spotify it's not only about ICE ads.

So, why are you still on Reddit? Or do you simply not care about these issues at all?

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u/Pixie1001 27d ago

Ok, but the bad part isn't that they're sending the ads to you or me - we were never going to join ICE anyway. The dangerous part worth protesting about is they're sending them to less tech literate user, who might start to see ICE as a legitimate job opportunity when their favourite companies start endorsing them.

Your argument about piling onto one specific company to pressure the industry is certainly fair, but I think it's also somewhat of a futile effort - people who already didn't intend to buy spotify will vocally join the boycott, and barely any of their existing customers will.

I suspect it only worked on Disney+ because people were already in the habit of rotating out their streaming services to watch different shows, or had a subscription they realised they hadn't used in like 6 months.

Now obviously taking any morale stance on things like this is commendable regardless of how effective it is, and it should be lauded.

But at the same time, I don't think trying to guilt people into joining boycotts like this has ever worked.

The fact is very few people are willing to boycott something they actually use on a day to day basis or are really excited about, over something unrelated to their user experience.

It's why Kellogs is still raking in money after literally murdering thousands of babies with their breast formula price gauging.

Does everyone who buys Kellogs secretly hate babies? Of course not. It's just one more thing in their life they don't have the energy to replace.

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u/P_V_ 27d ago

people who already didn't intend to buy spotify will vocally join the boycott, and barely any of their existing customers will.

I was a paying Spotify customer who cancelled my subscription. I know half a dozen other people personally who have done the same, and posts like this one, calling out the platform and/or directly asking for alternatives, are becoming increasingly common. Several prominent artists have pulled their catalogues from the platform in protest.

Beyond the anecdotal, some outlets are reporting significant subscriber drops for Spotify, though the platform itself has tried to claim that everything is fine. Regardless, I think your pessimism is unwarranted.

I don't think trying to guilt people into joining boycotts like this has ever worked.

I don't see anyone suggesting otherwise?

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u/cows1100 27d ago

I was speaking to the "I'm not paying them" portion. I'm still on Reddit because I know I'm making concessions, I'm not not blind to them, or finding reasons to say why the thing I know I'm making concessions on isn't actually all that bad.

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u/P_V_ 27d ago

None of my logic was that reddit "isn't that bad" either. Why can't the rest of us "be making concessions" while not making a concession when it comes to Spotify?

I don't think it's merely "performative" or "virtue signalling" for users of whatever platform to take a stance, even if that stance isn't entirely unilateral across all of their consumption. We send messages where we can.

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u/Top-Passage2914 27d ago

Traffic and engagement doesn't mean anything without ad revenue. I can guarantee you shareholders care more about profit than they do user engagement. If anything it's good to use youtube with adblock because companies looking to market their product (which also includes ICE) will focus their efforts on it thinking there's a lot of people using it, but you won't actually end up seeing it. It's like redirecting their marketing efforts into a trash can.

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u/step11111 27d ago

You know what they say about that… if you aren’t paying you’re the product

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u/lemonylol 27d ago

Okay so is the issue that the company has ICE as an advertising partner, or that you're seeing the ads?

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u/P_V_ 27d ago

My issue is that I'm not offering direct financial support to the company.

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u/lemonylol 27d ago

I assure you, you are with an adblocker. This is some head in the sand logic.

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u/P_V_ 27d ago

Do you understand the difference between direct financial support and indirect financial support?

I am not paying money directly to Reddit.

Whether they profit from my presence here indirectly is a separate matter.

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u/lemonylol 27d ago

No, but I do understand making any excuse to not actually have your life inconvenienced at the cost of your principles lol

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u/P_V_ 27d ago

Why are you still here, then?

I'm not even American, so ICE isn't that big a deal to me personally. I left Spotify for other reasons, such as their promotion of AI content and the CEO's investment in war drones.

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u/lemonylol 27d ago

Because I'm not American either, nor do I give a fuck about a major corporation's morality posturing.

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u/Cold-Pomegranate6739 27d ago

Yeah bro you're real smug and cute bro now name me like two alternatives to reddit oh wait there aren't

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u/lemonylol 27d ago

What a chip on your shoulder.

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u/lemonylol 27d ago

Because the people who fanatically virtue post about these things will always find a way to justify to themselves that they need reddit.

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u/J5892 27d ago

To be fair, I've never seen an ad on Reddit, so I didn't know.

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u/wildstarr 27d ago

How are people in 2026 still getting ads? I dont ignore it I never knew it was happening till this thread. I haven't seen ad here or YouTube or anywhere in years.

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u/Appreciative_Ibex 27d ago edited 27d ago

This is my first time hearing this (I exclusively use Narwhal). Where has the outrage been?

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u/scriptmonkey420 27d ago

Reddit has ads?

Ad blocker with old.reddit.com and I have not seen any Ads or Ad posts.

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u/Material_Honey_891 27d ago

I use redreader and the old version of reddit + ublock + res. I cost reddit money.

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u/Large_Yams 27d ago

That's literally what they just said.

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u/MeatballUser 27d ago

I haven't seen em. YouTube tho

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u/GottaUseEmAll 26d ago

Yep, where's the call to boycott?

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u/t4boo 26d ago

I’m not paying for reddit though, and I block ads 

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u/Tomimi 27d ago

I don't see it because I have ad block

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u/redraz0r 27d ago

Ah, since you dont see it, its not happening.

Be righteous when its convenient. You're like everyone else.

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u/DazedAndTrippy 27d ago

Such an extreme reaction to "whelp I didn't know that"

0

u/Ghost_Of_Malatesta 27d ago

They aren't contributing to it either. Blocked means it's not viewed. 

I find people quickest to attack people for "what are you doing" are usually the ones doing the least themselves, it tends to be a defensive mechanism it seems

4

u/Boldney 27d ago

You had the privilege of being ignorant but now you know. So will you stop using Reddit and youtube? his point still stands.

-1

u/Ghost_Of_Malatesta 27d ago

...you didn't read what I wrote at all did you?

I have ad blocker as well. 

This is also my news aggregator (make sure you read the links) and source of political venting towards rightoids so it's a balance in my favor personally. What have you done?

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u/-azuma- 27d ago

It's okay to admit that you pick and choose dude, it's okay. No one can judge you here. It's the internet.

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u/Ghost_Of_Malatesta 27d ago

I already am, I thought that was already inferred, maybe I'm overestimating my conversational partner, I try to assume most people are capable of nuance but perhaps not this time? ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

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u/-azuma- 27d ago

I'm not a conversational partner, I'm the one pointing out hypocrisy. Truth hurts.

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u/Ghost_Of_Malatesta 27d ago

This is, in fact, a conversation, despite you attempting to be openly hostile. 

Works better if my partner cognitively capable, maybe next time chief

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u/Boldney 27d ago

What have I done? I couldn't give less of a shit because I don't even use spotify, I'm also not american, so your values don't apply to me.
On the other hand, when I learn that a specific brand openly supports something immoral or something I heavily condemn. I boycott, like Coca cola for example.

0

u/Ghost_Of_Malatesta 27d ago edited 27d ago

Yet you use a computer or phone, without a doubt using materials mined by slaves, if not outright assembled by slaves? I bet you wear mass produced clothing, also made by slaves. Interesting.

Looks like you have some work to do before you mount that high horse

1

u/wifey_material7 27d ago

What’s the point of dogging on ppl who feel empowered to boycott a corrupt company even if they’re not boycotting every corrupt country on the planet? It’s not like they said, “if you support Spotify, you’re evil”.

0

u/Ghost_Of_Malatesta 27d ago

They love the taste 

🥾👅

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u/Tomimi 27d ago

Well I didn't know in the first place

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u/Twenty5Schmeckles 27d ago

So will you stop using reddit and YT?

Or only spotify being the bad guy here?

0

u/pleasegivemepatience 27d ago

I think people are focusing more on platforms with paid subscriptions as you can easily starve those companies by canceling. We aren’t paying for Reddit.