Spotify doesn’t want to police the content on its platform and the company finally admitted as much in a press release today. The Swedish music service has updated its “Hateful Conduct” rules by effectively walking the entire idea back.
Photo: Spencer Platt (Getty Images)
The policy that was announced in May resulted in the removal of the artists R. Kelly, Tay-K and XXXTentacion from the company’s playlists, immediately sparking intense pushback from the music industry.
Spotify acknowledged that it didn’t do its due diligence when enacting the policy, saying:
[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.
This statement itself is a little confusing. Within the company, Billboard reported that some executives had already questioned the decision explicitly because of the kind of backlash that could arise. So, Spotify may well have known this policy could’ve backfired the way it did.
Troy Carter, Spotify’s global head of creative services, was rumoured to be heading out of the door because of this choice, but last we heard he currently remains at the company.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek even admitted the policy was “rolled out wrong” earlier this week. Perhaps next time Spotify, a company valued at over $US25 billion ($33 billion), will listen a bit more closely to those internal and external voices when making such industry-shaking decisions.
[Spotify]