Streaming platform Spotify suspended its paid subscription service in Russia earlier this month, announcing that it would “completely cease service in Russia” due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, apparently indefinitely.
The company said: “Spotify has always believed that it is critical to strive to keep our services operational in Russia, providing trusted independent news and information in the region.
Unfortunately, recently enacted legislation further restricts access to information, Eliminating free expression and criminalizing certain types of journalism puts the safety of Spotify employees and possibly even our listeners at risk. After careful consideration of our options and current circumstances, we have made the difficult It has been decided to suspend our services in Russia in its entirety.”
Earlier this month, the company closed its offices in Russia “indefinitely”, although most, if not all, employees continue to work from home. However, it did not initially ban access to its services within Russia.
A Spotify representative said in a statement provided to Variety at the time: “We believe it is critical to work to keep our service operational in Russia to allow for the global flow of information.” It also restricted the discoverability of Russian state-affiliated content on the streaming audio service and removed all content from Kremlin-backed agencies RT and Sputnik from Spotify’s platform.
A Spotify representative said: “We are deeply shocked and saddened by the unprovoked attack on Ukraine. Over the past week, our priority has been to keep our employees safe and secure at a time when access to information is more important than ever. , Spotify continues to be a great source of global and regional news.”
The audio streaming giant said it was offering personal support to Spotify employees in the region as well as “our global community of Ukrainian employees.” Additionally, Spotify is matching employee donations on a two-to-one basis to support local humanitarian efforts in Ukraine amid the Russian attack. “We are exploring additional steps we can take and will continue to do what is in the best interest of our employees and our audience,” a company spokesperson said.