Spotify has removed the music and profiles of several Russian artists who support the invasion of Ukraine and have been sanctioned by the European Union and elsewhere in the West, Advertising sign has confirmed. Removals were first reported by The Moscow Times.
“Our platform rules clearly state that we take action when we find content that explicitly violates our content policies or local laws,” a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement sent to Advertising sign. “After review, these artists have met the threshold for removal.”
Spotify did not say what specific violations led to the removals.
According to the Telegram channel of Rodnoy Zvuk, the removals affected artists Polina Gagarina, Grigory Leps, Oleg Gazmanov, Shaman, Chicherina, Lyube and possibly others. Music from these artists currently remains available on rival streaming services, including Apple Music and YouTube.
Gagarina and Shaman appear to be the latest targets of European Union sanctions after appearing on a list of names released on June 24. The document alleges that both participated in pro-war events sponsored by the Russian government, noting that Shaman (real name Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov) has also “given concerts in the illegally occupied regions of Ukraine, including as part of troop entertainment events for Russian Armed Forces.” The Moscow Times reports that the other artists named in the Telegram post were sanctioned in 2022 after Russia's initial incursion.
On March 2, 2022, Spotify announced that it had closed its Russian office indefinitely following the February 24 attack, saying at the time that it would “provide one-on-one support to our staff in the region as well as our global community. Ukrainian employees”. Before the shutdown, the streamer said it had reviewed “thousands of pieces of content” on the platform and restricted the detection of propaganda content, while also removing content from state-run news agencies. RT and Sputnik.
Later in March, the company — which launched in Russia in 2020 — shut down its service in the country entirely, citing a Kremlin-imposed law that made it a criminal offense to describe the Ukrainian conflict as a war started by Russia.
