Auckland, August 18, 2025
The 2007 Emo Anthem You Can’t Stream-Adn Why
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Nearly two decades after its release, Atlas’s ‘Crawl’ remains mysteriously absent from major streaming services, fueling a dedicated fanbase’s quest to bring it back.
- ‘Crawl’ by Atlas dominated New Zealand airwaves in 2007,reaching number one for seven weeks.
- Despite its popularity, the song is unavailable on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
- Fans are actively campaigning for Atlas and Warner Music to make ‘Crawl’ accessible online.
- The band’s lead singer, Ben Campbell, attributes the issue to expired licensing agreements.
It’s 2007, and Britomart, Auckland, is a haven for the dramatically dressed. Gloomy teenagers, faces obscured by side-swept bangs, heavy eyeliner, and piercings, loitered amongst the city’s architecture. The scene was so iconic, one commenter recalled, that it felt like “a place to be contemplative and flick your emo fringe around.” At the heart of this cultural moment was ‘Crawl’ by Atlas, a song that resonated deeply with a generation-and remains frustratingly challenging to find today.
A Number One Hit Lost to Time
‘Crawl’ was the biggest new Zealand single of 2007, holding the number one spot on the charts for seven weeks and ultimately ranking as the sixth most popular song of the year, nestled between tracks by T-Pain and Ne-Yo. Nearly two decades later, the music video on YouTube is a repository of nostalgia, with comments from fans around the globe. “I am Korean and when I was in NZ in 2007 I coudl hear this song everywhere,” one commenter shared.Another simply stated, “This was a banger in my childhood, never even knew it was a kiwi song.”
But alongside the fond memories is a growing chorus of frustration. Hundreds of New Zealanders have taken to social media to lament the song’s absence from streaming platforms. “It is a crime that this song was number 1 on C4 tv for soooo long and its not even on spotty [Spotify],” one user wrote, garnering 320 likes.An eight-year-old post expressing similar disappointment has amassed 520 likes, and even a recent comment from 2025 has received 77 likes.
Ben Campbell, Atlas’s lead singer, says the issue comes down to expired licensing agreements. “It’s a really common thing, actually,” he explains. “when we signed with Warner Music, there were a lot of different agreements in place for different territories and different rights. Some of those just lapsed over time, and it’s been a nightmare trying to get them all sorted.” He adds that the band has been in talks with Warner Music for years about getting ‘Crawl’ back on streaming services, but the process has been slow and elaborate.
Warner Music New Zealand declined to comment on the specific case of ‘Crawl,’ but a spokesperson confirmed that licensing issues are a frequent challenge in the music industry. “We are always working to ensure that our artists’ music is available to fans around the world, but sometimes there are legal and contractual hurdles that we need to overcome,” they said.
A Second Life for a Lost Hit
Despite its absence from streaming, ‘Crawl’ has found a second life in recent years, thanks to a dedicated online fanbase.A Facebook group dedicated to the song has over 2,000 members, and fans regularly share memories and remixes of ‘Crawl.’ The song has also experienced a resurgence in popularity on TikTok, where it has been used