The #MeToo movement has already swept through Hollywood, but now musicians have had their fair share of controversies and scandals.
Whether it’s R Kelly or XXXTentacion, (or even John Lennon), choosing not to listen to an artist’s music based on their alleged abuse and reported mistreatment of women is one signal of protest available in the digital arsenal. After all, streams equal money.
That’s why Spotify’s latest feature is so welcome. The company is currently testing a “don’t play this artist” feature in its next iOS app, which The Verge has been able to try out ahead of the release.
Using the feature, you can block songs by a specific artist, but not tracks they are featured on. So if you're listening to a playlist you didn't make, if that artist is included on the list, Spotify will skip this track automatically for you.
Last year, Spotify came under fire for blocking specific artists from the company’s playlists based on its new policy around “hateful conduct”. At the time, Spotify said the policy meant artists that did not “reflect our values” would not be promoted by the company on its own curated playlists.
This didn’t block music made by these artists completely, but it was significant that Spotify was making such a public stand.
R Kelly, who was removed on the basis of claims of sexual abuse, creating child pornography and running a sex cult, hit out against the removal. His management wrote in a statement: “He is innocent of the false and hurtful accusations in the ongoing smear campaign against him, waged by enemies seeking a payoff… It is acting based on false and unproven allegations.”
Now it looks like Spotify isn’t making editorial decisions anymore on particular artists but allowing people to make those choices by themselves.
There’s no timeline yet for when the new feature will become available but expect to look out for it in a Spotify app update in the next few months.
