"Toxicity" Left Spotify Suddenly, and Fans Were Not Ready To Say Goodbye to the 2001 Album

Whether you still prefer to own CDs or even vinyls rather than stream music, it's hard to deny the allure of having millions of songs on the palm of your hand. That is, of course, if those songs remain there and aren't suddenly booted from whatever music streaming app you use. That's what happened with the System of a Down album "Toxicity" on Spotify.

On April 30, 2025, users reported on social media that the album suddenly disappeared from the app. Other albums were still available, but that one specifically was seemingly taken down. Many were left wondering why "Toxicity" got removed from Spotify and whether or not more System of a Down albums would follow. This isn't the first time this has happened, but it still didn't make it easy for longtime fans to lose access to the 2001 album. So, what happened?

When one user shared on Reddit that they lost access to "Toxicity," others commented to share that the album was gone for them too. Spotify did not release a statement about why "Toxicity" was removed or why other albums from the band remained available to stream.

One possible reason could be a licensing issue. According to the Spotify Community, when the licensing for songs or albums expires on Spotify, they are removed. More often than not, however, those songs and albums return once the licensing issue is resolved and a contract is renewed, which typically doesn't take too long. Luckily for System of a Down fans, that's what happened with "Toxicity."

On May 1, 2025, less than 24 hours after users reported the album being taken off Spotify, many reported back to the same Reddit thread to share that it was back.

"Aaand it's back now," one user commented on the Reddit thread. "Balance of the universe has been restored."

Though for some longtime fans, it was a dark 12 hours or so when they thought they lost the chance to stream "Toxicity" for the foreseeable future.

In the past, users have reported other songs and albums being removed from Spotify. While it might be a licensing issue in some cases, other times, it's because certain artists requested to have their music removed from the streaming app. According to Spotify's support site, artists can issue a takedown request to their label or distributor. Then, the request will be made to Spotify.

That's likely more so for smaller bands or artists, but it does offer another explanation about why some songs and albums are removed from Spotify. There are still millions of options for subscribers to choose from, even if they lose access to some favorites from time to time. Luckily for some fans, their music returns to the platform more often than not.