Spotify removes songs by pro-war Russian artists

June 28, 2024

The music streaming service Spotify has removed songs and profiles of pro-war Russian artists sanctioned by the West and Russian media. reported on Thursday.

Among those affected by the dismissals were the band Lyube and the singers Grigory Leps, Oleg Gazmanov, Shaman and Polina Gagarina, according to the Telegram channel Rodnoy Zvuk.

Lyube, Leps and Gazmanov have been subject to 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.

Previous unconfirmed reports claimed that the Spotify accounts of the affected artists may have been hacked.

Spotify did not immediately respond to The Moscow Times’ request for comment on the removals.

Despite their removal from Spotify, the Russian artists’ profiles remain accessible on other platforms, such as US-based Apple Music and YouTube.

In 2022, Spotify will exposed streaming services and closed its office in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

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