Spotify removes Russian artists who support the Ukraine war

In March 2022, Spotify announced that it would completely shut down its service in Russia in light of the invasion of Ukraine. Now the streamer is cracking down on the songs and profiles of pro-war Russian artists by removing their music entirely from the platform.

The Moscow Times reports that the Russian artists affected include the band Lyube and singers Grigory Leps, Oleg Gazmanov, Polina Gagarina and Shaman. “The platform rules clearly state that we take action when we identify content that specifically violates our content policies or local laws,” Spotify said in a statement. “After review, these artists met the minimum requirements for removal.”

Although Spotify did not specify which content violated its policies, some of the artists affected have been under EU sanctions since the Russian government invaded Ukraine in 2022. However, Gagarina and Shaman appeared in Brussels’ latest sanctions package last week. The listing said Shaman “participated in Kremlin-organized concerts on multiple occasions, including the Kremlin’s anniversary event for that war, and performed concerts in the illegally occupied territories of Ukraine,” while Gagarina allegedly earned “significant income” from state-sponsored events celebrating the annexation of Ukrainian territories under Moscow’s partial control. Sanctions are subject to restrictive measures such as asset freezes and travel bans.

Spotify also announced a hate content and hateful conduct policy in 2018, which led to the removal of R. Kelly and XXXTentacion’s music from Spotify-curated playlists and other editorial offerings. However, they walked back the policy a few weeks later after critics said it disproportionately affected artists of color.