Should the music of Kanye West, author of anti-Semitic comments on social media, remain accessible? This is the question now being asked by the bosses of the main streaming platforms, starting with Spotify. If his main business partners like Adidas have turned their backs on him, the rapper’s work, whose fortune has fallen three-quarters in a few hours, is still available for the moment.
With Reuters, Daniel Ek, head of Spotify, returns to the topic. He explains in particular why, in his opinion, Kanye West’s music should not be removed from the streaming service.
In the record company to choose
As Reuters recalls, no removal request has yet come from Def Jam Recordings, owned by Universal Music Group, which owns the rights to Kanye West’s recordings for the period from 2002 to 2016.
Spotify’s choice also seems to be shared with other streaming platforms: at this time, the American artist’s songs are still accessible on Deezer, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
However, Spotify did not limit itself to the musical content of the artists to take sanctions against them: in 2018, the company removed from its playlists the songs of R. Kelly, then accused of sexual abuse, while leaving them accessible to Internet users that they were looking for them. She has yet to mention a similar sanction regarding Kanye West.
Source: BFM TV
