Speedy Ortiz, Downtown Boys & more pull music from Amazon, urge others to do the same

Over 1000 musicians so far have signed a “No Music for ICE” open letter, “pledging to boycott participating in Amazon-sponsored festivals or partnerships until the company stops supporting human rights violations through its contracts with ICE and other US government agencies.” The “ad-hoc group of artists and activists” who organized the letter, which included Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Otiz), Evan Greer, Adult Mom, Joey La Neve DeFrancesco (Downtown Boys), @k8_or_die, Carmen Perry (Remember Sports), and Jes Skolnik has escalated the campaign, requesting to have their music removed from Amazon ahead of Black Friday and the holiday season, and instructing other artists on doing the same. Here’s an excerpt from their new letter:

Today, we are calling on musicians to take the next step: do what we did and remove your music from Amazon. A mass, collective takedown is an escalation, another step in musicians acting in solidarity with the numerous groups across the country protesting to shut down ICE and end family separations, deportations, and other horrors.

Amazon is aggressively trying to compete in the music sales and streaming markets, with mixed results. Based on a few numbers for major “rock” acts an industry insider shared with us recently, Amazon Streaming accounted for only around 4% of first week streams. Amazon MP3 digital sales equated to 3% total of album sales, excluding ticket/album bundle sales. Pulling down your music kicks Amazon where it already hurts, and it’s easy to do.

If you are on a label or otherwise have a distribution deal, write to your label or distributor directly. Ask if they can help you issue a takedown request to Amazon for digital sales and streaming. It’s easy to opt out, and it should only take a few days for your music to be removed from their platform. Our organizers with distribution from ADA and Redeye, like Get Better Records,Speedy Ortiz, Downtown Boys, and Evan Greer were able to do so quickly and painlessly. Check out our “How to” guide below to learn more about how to issue Amazon takedowns.

Visit nomusicforice.com to learn more, sign the open letter, and for instructions on requesting a takedown.