Spotify officially scraps ‘hateful conduct’ policy
Spotify plunged itself into the center of a sensitive, industry-wide debate last month when it announced that it was starting to ban certain artists from its first-party playlists on the grounds of ‘hateful conduct’. The controversial move saw the likes of R Kelly (pictured) and rapper XXXTentacion removed from major Spotify playlists – essentially due to allegations of serious misconduct in their personal lives. Spotify earned some praise for the move, but plenty of backlash. Those against the announcement including some of Spotify’s own senior executives – believed to include, according to reports, its global head of creator services Troy Carter. Today, Spotify has officially walked back the ‘hateful conduct’ policy, which is believed to have originally been the brainchild of its public affairs boss Jonathan Prince. However, the firm has stood by a provision, introduced at the same time, which will see music containing ‘hateful content’ – ie. lyrics which incite hate – ...