Spotify CEO hits back at Taylor Swift over albums removal NEW YORK, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- CEO Daniel Ek made the case for Spotify in a blog post Tuesday, after Taylor Swift removed her catalog from the popular streaming service. "We started Spotify because we love music and piracy was killing it," Ek wrote in the post. So all the talk swirling around lately about how Spotify is making money on the backs of artists upsets me big time. Swift released her latest album, 1989, last month, but decided to pull all of her music from Spotify last week. "I'm not willing to contribute my life's work to an experiment that I don't feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists, and creators of this music," she told Yahoo of her decision. Ek responded directly to Swift's concerns in the post, writing that Spotify is working on behalf of artists. "Taylor Swift is absolutely right: music is art, art has real value, and artists deserve to be paid for it," Ek wrote. Our whole reason for existence is to help fans find music and help artists connect with fans through a platform that protects them from piracy and pays them for their amazing work. Ek claimed in the post that Spotify has generated $2 billion in revenue for labels and their artists since its creation. He also said that top-tier artists like Swift stood to make as much as $6 million a year from Spotify -- before she pulled her albums. 1989 sold 1.3 million copies in its first week, the most successful debut week for an album since Eminem's The Eminem Show in 2002.