The company removed their music and profiles from its platform.
Photo credit: Haithem Ferdi on Unsplash
Spotify has recently taken a firm stance against artists who support Russia’s war in Ukraine by removing their music and profiles from its platform.
Among the suspended artists are the band Lyube and singers Grigory Leps, Oleg Gazmanov, Shaman, and Polina Gagarina, among others. The Moscow Times reports that many of these artists had already been subject to EU sanctions introduced in 2022 when the war began.
The sanctions highlighted that Shaman frequently participated in concerts organized by the Kremlin and performed in illegally occupied regions of Ukraine. Similarly, pop singer Gagarina earned a substantial income from state-sponsored events celebrating the annexation of Crimea.
In 2022, Spotify closed its Moscow office indefinitely following the outbreak of the war, offering support to their personnel in the Russian city and their global community of Ukrainian employees. However, the platform continued its service to ensure the global flow of information.
Spotify explained that its platform rules require action to be taken when content is found to violate its policies or local laws. After reviewing the artists in question, Spotify determined that they met the criteria for removal.
