Spotify Eases 'Hateful Conduct' Playlist Policy After Outcry
Spotify Eases 'Hateful Conduct' Playlist Policy After
Outcry
Chart-topping rapper XXXTentacion, charged with battering
a pregnant woman, to return to playlists
By Daniel Kreps May 25, 2018
Spotify will walk back the streaming service's decision
to remove artists accused of misconduct, namely the rapper XXXTentacion, from
its featured playlists.
Under new "public hate content and hateful conduct
policy," Spotify will not promote acts that "don't reflect [its]
values"
Following additional allegations against R. Kelly,
numerous streaming services "muted" that singer's music from their
respective spotlighted playlists, with Spotify taking the extra step of also
removing XXXTentacion, the chart-topping rapper who was previously charged with
battering a pregnant woman.
While Spotify's move was applauded in some circles, the
policy also fueled censorship concerns. "Whoa. Are they censoring the
music? That’s dangerous," Top Dawg Entertainment president Punch tweeted.
A representative for Kendrick Lamar, a TDE rapper, reportedly called Spotify
CEO Daniel Ek to "express their frustration" over the policy,
Bloomberg reports. Spotify's industry liaison Troy Carter also reportedly
threatened to leave the streaming service if the policy wasn't revised.
Following Spotify's new anti-hate policy, XXXTentacion's
manager provided a long list of artists with checkered pasts and criminal
allegations that were not punished by the streaming services. The policy has
also been employed to expel white nationalist "hate bands" from the
streaming service.
As the Associated Press reported, after Kelly was taken
off of streaming services' playlists (but not the services themselves), the
singer actually saw an uptick in his streaming numbers in the week following
the removal. Bloomberg notes that, despite restoring XXXTentacion's playlist
placement, Spotify has no plans to promote Kelly again.
Comments
Post a Comment