US RnB singer R. Kelly’s music has been removed from Spotify’s “editorial or algorithmic playlists on its service” under a new policy effective yesterday, May 10. The move comes after the streaming monolith shared a statement regarding “Hate Content and Hateful Content” which notes that aims to cease the promotion of music that may “advocates, or incites hatred or violence against a group or individual.”
As revealed to Billboard in a statement Spotify shared, “we are removing R. Kelly’s music from all Spotify owned and operated playlists and algorithmic recommendations such as Discover Weekly.” His music hasn’t been removed from the service completely,
“When an artist or creator does something that is especially harmful or hateful, it may affect the ways we work with or support that artist or creator.”
The move comes after multiple widespread, credible claims that Kelly held women against their will in an abusive sex cult. Kelly denied the claims last year, with a representative of his saying he was “both alarmed and disturbed by the recent revelations attributed to him.”
A recent Twitter wide #MuteRKelly trend saw individuals share their own stories and experiences they’ve had with the disgraced musician, with one noting, “dude used to wait outside middle schools and high schools looking for girls to essentially kidnap and have sex with. I don’t care how good his music is I cant bear to hear his voice.”
Spotify has also removed Atlanta rapper XXXTentacion from it’s playlists. His 2018 release SAD held a spot on Spotify’s popular RapCaviar playlist, however, Billboard picked up that it was no longer featured. The 20-year-old has been embroiled in a graphic domestic violence case since last year.
