Spotify says white supremacist bands are not welcome on its platform after being alerted to their presence in a week that has seen a wave of individuals and public figures stand up to messages of hate.
“Illegal content or material that favors hatred or incites violence against race, religion, sexuality or the like is not tolerated by us,” a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement.
We are glad to have been alerted to this content ― and have already removed many of the bands identified today, whilst urgently reviewing the remainder.”
On Monday, Digital Music News published a list of 37 hate bands, as classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which its author said were available on Spotify as of publication time. The center shared a list of white supremacist groups in 2014 after discovering many of them were available on iTunes.
Within weeks, Apple began pulling the bands. As of Wednesday, the majority are not available on the U.S. site. Many of the groups still appear to be available on Spotify.
The streaming giant says hundreds of thousands of record labels and aggregators contribute music to its catalog, and views them as being primarily responsible for the content on its platform. But it promises to take “immediate action” against tracks that violate its policies, once brought to light.
While it continues to review the hateful tracks, the company has added a new, pointedly curated playlist of its own. Titled “Patriotic Passion,” the list features songs by Jimi Hendrix, James Brown and others, encouraging listeners to learn more about “upholding American values” by visiting the SPLC’s website.