Ukraine War
Spotify Will Stop Offering Services In Russia From April 11
On Saturday, April 9, the Russia-Ukraine conflict entered its 45th day. As a result, major brands, fashion outlets, production houses, and streaming services have boycotted operations in Russia to condemn President Putin’s military offensive in Ukraine.
Following suit, Swedish audio streaming and media service platform, Spotify, which had previously decided to continue operations in Russia, announced on Thursday that it would cease operations from April 11 in protest of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.
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Spotify to cease operations in Russia
On April 11, Spotify Technology SA announced that all of its services will be suspended in Russia. According to reports, users of the audio streaming service in the country received an email regarding the same. Subscribers will be able to reactivate their accounts when they travel abroad.
Spotify continued to provide ‘critically trusted’ and important news to the region even after the war began. Spotify stated that “Spotify has continued to believe that keeping our service operational in Russia is crucial for providing trusted, independent news and information from the region.”. according to Deadline, Spotify believes that Russian service availability is essential to the global flow of information.
The company also revealed that it removed all content from Kremlin-backed outlets RT and Sputnik from its platform and restricted the discovery of Russian content. In the end, the decision was withdrawn due to the safety of the organization’s employees. The streaming service stated, “Unfortunately, recently enacted legislation further restricts information access, eliminates free expression, and criminalizes certain types of news, putting the safety of Spotify’s employees and possibly even our listeners at risk.”.
