Music streaming service Spotify has removed the songs and profiles of pro-war Russian artists sanctioned by the West, the Sweden-based company told The Moscow Times on Thursday.
The removals affected the band Lyube and singers Grigory Leps, Oleg Gazmanov, Shaman and Polina Gagarina, among others, according to the Rodnoy Zvuk Telegram channel, which first reported the removals.
Lyube, Leps and Gazmanov have been under EU sanctions since 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Shaman, whose real name is Yaroslav Dronov, and Polina Gagarina appeared in the latest EU sanctions package earlier this week.
In an email statement sent to The Moscow Times, Spotify said its “Platform Rules clearly state that we take action when we identify content which explicitly violates our content policies or local laws.”
“Upon review, these artists met the threshold for removal,” the statement added, without detailing the nature of the violations.
Earlier unconfirmed reports from Russian media outlets claimed the Spotify accounts of the affected artists may have been hacked, thus explaining the removal of their songs from the service.
Despite their removal from Spotify, the Russian artists’ profiles remain accessible on other platforms, such as the U.S.-based Apple Music and YouTube.
In 2022, Spotify suspended streaming services and closed its office in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
… we have a small favor to ask. As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.
Remind me later.
