Spotify are backing away from the controversial policy which saw the music of acts such as R. Kelly and XXXTentacion effectively demoted on the platform.
As reported, new guidelines were introduced which sought to de-emphasize the work of artists with problematic practises. Though stopping short of removing said material, the streaming leader revealed that content from such musicians would be banned from any of their promoted playlists.
While welcomed in some corners, it proved a sore spot for many (even critics of said acts) who wondered aloud who’d be deciding what constituted troublesome behaviour and what the criteria was when picking the artists.
Now, in a stunning move, Spotify are disassociating with the move (which initially came on the heels of the #MuteRKelly movement. A movement which took aim with the countless allegations of sexual assault Kelly has dodged over the years).
Details below…
Issued today, the company’s statement read:
Spotify recently shared a new policy around hate content and conduct. And while we believe our intentions were good, the language was too vague, we created confusion and concern, and didn’t spend enough time getting input from our own team and key partners before sharing new guidelines.
It’s important to note that our policy had two parts. The first was related to promotional decisions in the rare cases of the most extreme artist controversies. As some have pointed out, this language was vague and left too many elements open to interpretation. We created concern that an allegation might affect artists’ chances of landing on a Spotify playlist and negatively impact their future. Some artists even worried that mistakes made in their youth would be used against them.
That’s not what Spotify is about. We don’t aim to play judge and jury. We aim to connect artists and fans – and Spotify playlists are a big part of how we do that. Our playlist editors are deeply rooted in their respective cultures, and their decisions focus on what music will positively resonate with their listeners. That can vary greatly from culture to culture, and playlist to playlist. Across all genres, our role is not to regulate artists. Therefore, we are moving away from implementing a policy around artist conduct.
As it continued, it asserted a firm stance however on hate speech:
Spotify does not permit content whose principal purpose is to incite hatred or violence against people because of their race, religion, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. As we’ve done before, we will remove content that violates that standard. We’re not talking about offensive, explicit, or vulgar content – we’re talking about hate speech.
We will continue to seek ways to impact the greater good and further the industry we all care so much about.
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While Spotify’s intent with the initial policy seemed to be rooted in the “right” sentiment, it arguably misstepped majorly by not looking at the broader picture.
More acts than we can list have problematic pasts, presents, and sadly futures. But it’s tricky terrain pressing the “exclusion” button because it starts the “but, what about x, y, z” chain of commentary.
Make no mistake, bad behaviour should never be rewarded. And, from where we’re standing, record labels would be better served to be the primary issuers of ramifications. Think ABC‘s recent dropping of ‘Roseanne’– despite being one of their biggest money makers.
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That is good Spotify backpedaled. They knew they were wrong in implementing such a racist policy! R. Kelly fans teamed up and increased his streams one they tried tonoppresa him This came from that idiot Troy Carter who has a personal agenda against R. Kelly. Rumor has it Spitify is about to fire his ugly asss for putting them in such a vulnerable spot for numerous discrimination lawsuits.
That is good Spotify backpedaled. They knew they were wrong in implementing such a racist policy! R. Kelly fans teamed up and increased his streams one they tried to oppress him and block his fans from enjoying his music. This came from that idiot Troy Carter who has a personal agenda against R. Kelly. Rumor has it Spitify is about to fire his ugly asss for putting them in such a vulnerable spot for numerous discrimination lawsuits.
Next up is shutting those lesbians and uglies behind that racist #Mute Kelly movement. They are nobody’s judge and jury and they think it is okay to viciously attack Kelly’s fans outside his concerts or unsuccessfully try to block his fans from enjoying his music but won’t do the same towards anybody white.
Jasmine with the tea lol ☕️
And this is why women dont get taken seriously when they’re assaulted. You morons go out of your way to defend these perverts just because you like his music, no wonder nobody believes you when you really do get assaulted.
SMH think bigger. We are talking about racial discrimination here. Whether or not R. Kelly is a “perv” is subjective and nonrelevant here. From a legal sense, he is not a “perv”. Perhaps you have a more uptight view on sexual appetite than the law does but that does not make your views on sexual proclivities meaningful. The law is what is meaningful. Your opinion is merely subjective and imo prudish.
When I see here smth about Kelly I just come to the comment section to see what arguments and excuses Jasmine Huckabee Sanders use today.
Girl stop please! I laugh so hard at your judiciary excuses, are u a judge or a lawyer girl? Lmfao if we want to call him a p*** or a perv we call him that, because that’s what he is.
Don’t care about courtrooms or sentences, are u telling me you consider OJ innocent? Hahaha he was absolved by your precious justice system!
You have to learn to accept others points of view, if you notice you answer to everyone who have a different opinion! Relax girl c’mon, stress makes you get wrinkles!
LOL Sandra. I totally get it girl. I am not an attorney but I do possess the legal acumen and entertainment management experience to qualify my opinions. In additiom, i have had attorneys work for me and vice versa. I worked with NBC’s legal team as a consultant over 2 years. This is about racial discrimination. It had nothing to do with people’s varying opinions of what is a perv or p***. That is why it is essential to go by the legal definitions of what a p*** is and what level criminal perversion must take place for it to be conserved illegal. Some may say golden showers are perverted and disgusting but others like me so no problems with people who do that. I’ve given golden showers (I would never let a niqqa piis on me though bit doe those that like it they are not doing anything illegal or “perverted” in my eyes. Everyone is entitled to their own fetishist as long as it is legal. It is when people try to dismiss the law is when there is a problem.
Furthermore, bringing up OJ is irrelevant, off-topic, and desperate. OJ was found not guilty by a jury of what he was charged of. Do I agree with the jury’s decision? Yes. Based on the facts of the case and how he was tried I conclude OJ and another man committed murder and the prosecution should have delayed trying OJ until they discovered who his accomplice is. Once you get the accomplice to take a plea deal in exchange for a lessor sentence and testimony against OJ then you try OJ. That is why they lost. The prosecution was so busy trying to hurry and pin charges against OJ they forgot they needed to find out who the accomplice is to take away reasonable doubt. I bet that glove that did not fit was the accomplices. As for Kelly, the public’s rush to crucify him without any criminal charges will continue to backfire. Let the police and legal system handle it.
I usually agree with all of Jasmine’s comments except for when she comments on R. Kelly. Whenever it is a R. Kelly post she acts batsh!t crazy. I don’t get it.
Jasmine did you and R. Kelly used to date or something? Spill the tea girl.
Troll ass. My private business is none of your business troll.
Jasmine Huckabee Sanders ???
Cant say i’m surprised. Just like he shelled out the cash to get his cases thrown out in Chicago, the Pied perv clearly must have wrote spotify a nice big check to get his music back on there. And the idiots defending this p*** can have several seats. Once again, R Kelly has bought his way out of trouble.
LIES! R. Kelly did not write Spotify or anybody else a check in recent years. He don’t even pay his rent on his atl homes so get real with your bogus lies! The truth of the matter is that this oppression from Spotify and #Mute Kelly backfired! His fans must think alike and we teamed up and streamed the hell out of his music so his streaming went up instead of down. Spotify also received threats from attorneys threatening lawsuits for discriminatiom. Furthermore, artists like Kendrick threatened to pull their music from Spotify if their racism continued. Let’s stick the facts here and not make up lies. SMH you cannot condemn someone based off of their race.
The policy was discriminatory. But instead of applying it to everybody (white people) they gave it up all together. These businesses only care to bandwagon punish these artists. They couldn’t give two actual fvcks about the right thing.
I was just coming to say this! So instead of holding white artists to the same standard as black artists they’d rather scrap the whole policy. We see you Spotify ?
I agree with Jasmine here! Don’t get me wrong, sexual molestation and sexual abuse are vile offenses, and I hope those offenders rot in hell for their transgressions! However, don’t fall for the distraction, the #meetoo movement is sadly now being used to exact legal attacks against black men valued in the black community! And because most people are more comfortable talking about the #meetoo movement versus the #blacklivesmatter movement, because race for many people (who are not of color) is a sensitive topic, focus is being put on sexual harassment versus racial prejudice.
These lawsuits and penalties are not about the victim, as most of those individuals who are victimized do not benefit from having their lives and pain publicized throughout the media. The goal here is to delegitimize, vilify, and imprison certain men who are deemed threats. The case with Bill Cosby was never about his victims or his transgressions, it was solely to prevent him from joining the ranks of white networks owners. So his victims were used as pawns to exact a plan to financially bankrupt him and his legacy. The same with R. Kelly, Michael Jackson, and more recently the allegations against Morgan Freeman. Justice here is not for the sake of those who are harmed, so do not mistake efforts that are in efforts to uphold the sexual harassment movement as being fair and just, as the motives behind them are more diabolical than you know.
If that’s true then what the actual victims supposed to do?
Victims are supposed to pursue justice, to the fullest extent; however, justice is questionable when it comes 20 years after the crime. So, I am not saying that victims should remain silent, but I am just saying that many things lie beneath the surface of what we are seeing. And the reasons that many of these individuals are being prosecuted is not because their is an effort to hold them accountable for their criminal act. Conversely, there is plan to destroy them professionally, and this is sure-fire way of doing it. So while many people are reveling in wins for moral justice, they are missing the fact that racial injustice might be sole intent of the decisions made.
the heavy metal artist have been banging them teenage girls for years
I do think the #metoo movement is getting out of control. If you don’t like his music turn it off…but do not start a campaign to deny me from enjoying it. I do not know if R kelly has done anything wrong but I love his music and want to continue to listen to it. The biggest problem I have with this movement is that is has become too easy to say that someone was being inappropriate, when all they were doing was complimenting…or maybe they just weren’t the one you wanted to compliment you and it became a problem. Or maybe he just said she looked nice, and now she’s accusing him of looking at her b******. The #metoo movement has now become a weapon
CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA YOUR LOCAL P********* & WOMAN BEATERS MUSIC CAN BE PLAYED & nothing they do will be talked about because America is a foolish country for those who have A LOT OF MONEY!!
They took it too far TBH. I’m against what he did but they also gotta think of all the other innocent songwriters and producers he worked that are sharing the royalties with him. Its not a fair banning policy.
And its not like he sings about encouraging any violence or illegal relationships in his songs. Spotify is about the music and not the person!