Björk has slammed Spotify as “the worst thing that has happened to musicians”, noting the way streaming culture has forced artists into relentless touring just to make ends meet.

In a new interview with Swedish publication Dagens Nyheter, the Icelandic musician – who now resides full-time in her hometown of Reykjavík and co-runs a record store she once worked at as a youngster – says that the grind of performing live has become less of a creative choice and more of an economic necessity given the dominance of streaming.

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Though she’s privileged enough to no longer have to depend on touring for income, “the live part is, and always will be, a big part of what I do,” says Björk.

“But I’m lucky because I no longer have to raise money on touring, which younger musicians are often forced to do.”

“In that respect, Spotify is probably the worst thing that has happened to musicians,” she adds. “Streaming culture has changed an entire society and an entire generation of artists.”

Earlier this month, Spotify made headlines as multiple Grammy Awards nominees announced their decision to boycott the streaming giant’s party for the ceremony.

Jessie Jo Dillon, who was nominated for Songwriter Of The Year, said that she “couldn’t in good support this initiative given their approach to bundling royalties.”

“It is very nice to be individually honoured, but it is better for me and my entire songwriter community to be paid fairly for our art. There are no songs without songwriters.”

Already notorious for its low royalty payments to artists, the platform also caused controversy last year after revising its royalty system such that all tracks that have been streamed less than 1,000 times in the last 12 months will be demonetised.

In August, it was reported that CEO and founder Daniel Ek earned more money from the platform in the past 12 months than any other artist ever has. He also outraged the internet earlier this year when he claimed the cost of making content was “close to zero”.

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