Spotify has taken action after an activist group claimed it had scraped and published nearly the entire music catalog of the streaming platform online, raising serious concerns about piracy and digital security.
On Saturday, activist group Anna’s Archive said it had backed up Spotify’s music files and metadata, claiming the data dump totals around 300 terabytes. According to the group, the archive covers about 99.6 percent of all listens on Spotify and includes roughly 256 million songs, 58 million albums, and music from more than 15 million artists worldwide. The files were reportedly shared online and organized by artist popularity.
Anna’s Archive described the move as an effort to preserve global musical heritage. In a blog post cited by Billboard, the group said Spotify’s catalog was “a great start” for a wider music preservation project. The group argued that existing music archives are limited, often focused on popular artists, and maintained by small communities that prioritize high-quality formats requiring large storage space.
The group also called on users to donate and help distribute the data through torrents, claiming such archives could protect music from risks like wars, natural disasters, funding cuts, or political disruptions. At the same time, it acknowledged that Spotify does not host all music available globally.
Spotify responded quickly, saying it had identified and shut down accounts involved in what it called “unlawful scraping.” The company said it has added extra safeguards and is actively monitoring its systems to prevent similar incidents in the future.
In a statement, Spotify said it has always opposed piracy and continues to work closely with the music industry to protect artists and their rights. The company stressed that protecting creators and their work remains a core priority.
Spotify did not confirm how long the scraping activity may have gone unnoticed, but the claimed scale of the data has drawn strong attention across the tech and music industries. The incident highlights the growing challenge streaming platforms face in protecting massive digital libraries from large-scale scraping and piracy attempts, while also ensuring the security of their infrastructure.
