Spotify has confirmed the removal of several pro-war Russian artists' songs and profiles from its platform. This action primarily affects artists who are currently under Western sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The affected artists include:

• Lyube
• Grigory Leps
• Oleg Gazmanov
• Shaman
• Polina Gagarina

According to a Spotify spokesperson, content removal occurs when material explicitly violates platform policies or local laws. This move follows Spotify's 2022 decision to suspend services in Russia and close its offices after the Ukraine invasion.

This decision marks a significant shift in Spotify's content moderation policies, as the platform has historically maintained a high threshold for content removal. For context, Spotify has previously retained content from controversial artists like R. Kelly, Kanye West, and Diddy, despite various controversies.

The platform's approach to content moderation has evolved since 2017, when it addressed concerns about neo-Nazi and white supremacist content. At that time, Spotify pledged to remove content created by hate groups, stating that material promoting hatred or inciting violence against race, religion, or sexuality would not be tolerated.

While Spotify maintains strict policies against illegal or hateful content, questions remain about consistent enforcement across different types of controversial content on major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and YouTube.

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