Salvador Sobral Is Pulling His Music from Spotify, and Honestly, That Tracks

Salvador Sobral has decided he no longer wants his music living on Spotify.

He said so on Instagram, explaining that he has asked for his debut album Excuse Me (2016) to be removed from the platform. He also added that his other albums are likely to follow. To make it clear this isn’t just talk, he shared a confirmation email showing Spotify has received the request and that the removal process can take up to 30 days.

Right now, the album is still there. But the intention isn’t subtle.

This isn’t about a label dispute or a streaming glitch. Sobral framed it as an ethical choice. In the same story, he pointed fans toward Qobuz, calling it a more ethical alternative.

Short message. Clear position.

If you’ve been paying attention to Salvador lately, this probably doesn’t feel shocking.

Over the past year he’s spoken repeatedly about Gaza, criticised Israel’s continued participation in Eurovision, and questioned RTP’s decision to keep Portugal in the contest. In December, he also appeared at the “Juntos por Gaza” concert in Lisbon.

So no, this Spotify move didn’t come out of nowhere.

What makes it interesting is the scale of the decision. Spotify isn’t some niche platform. It’s where most people listen to music. Leaving it means fewer casual listeners, fewer playlists, fewer algorithmic boosts and, yes, probably less money.

Sobral seems perfectly aware of that.

And he’s still doing it.

That’s the part that separates this from the usual social media activism cycle. Plenty of artists share posts. Plenty of artists repost graphics. Very few actually change how their music is distributed.

Sobral is doing exactly that.

For fans, the practical side is simple: if the removals go through, you’ll need to find his music somewhere else. Which is likely part of the idea.

Salvador Sobral has never really played the industry game in the traditional sense. He won Eurovision with a song that didn’t follow pop trends. He never tried to become a chart-chasing pop star. He’s always moved a little sideways.

Pulling his music from Spotify fits neatly into that pattern.

You don’t have to agree with him. You don’t have to boycott Spotify. You don’t even have to like the decision.

But it’s hard to pretend he isn’t being consistent.

He’s aligning his actions with his beliefs, even when it costs him something.

In today’s music industry, that’s still not especially common.

Source: Expresso