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Spotify, a Swedish music streaming and media services company, has said that it will “completely cease” its service in Russia, presumably indefinitely, due to Russia’s ongoing military incursion in Ukraine.
The corporation had discontinued its paid membership service in Russia earlier this month. “Spotify has continued to feel that it’s very necessary to strive to keep our service functioning in Russia to deliver credible, independent news and information in the region,” the firm stated in a statement, according to Variety.
“Unfortunately, recently enacted laws restricting access to information, eliminating free expression, and criminalizing some forms of news puts the safety of Spotify’s staff and, potentially, our listeners in jeopardy. We’ve arrived at a decision after carefully analyzing our choices and the existing situation.
“We have made the terrible decision to cease our service in Russia completely,” they continued.
With this decision, the corporation joins the ranks of dozens of other music companies that have shut down in the country, including Netflix, Sony Music, and Warner Media, to name a few.
Despite the fact that Spotify’s Russian headquarters were terminated earlier this month, the business did not immediately disable access to its service in Russia.
It also deleted all content from Kremlin-backed outlets RT and Sputnik from Spotify’s platform, limiting the discoverability of Russian state-affiliated content on the streaming music platforms.
According to Variety, Spotify debuted its service in Russia and Ukraine, as well as ten other European countries, in July 2020.
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