Music streaming service Spotify has removed the songs and profiles of pro-war Russian artists sanctioned by the West, Russian media reported on Thursday.
The removals affected the band Lyube and singers Grigory Leps, Oleg Gazmanov, Shaman and Polina Gagarina, among others, according to the Rodnoy Zvuk Telegram channel.
Lyube, Leps and Gazmanov have been under EU sanctions since 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Shaman, whose real name is Yaroslav Dronov, and Polina Gagarina appeared in the latest EU sanctions package earlier this week.
Earlier unconfirmed reports claimed the Spotify accounts of the affected artists may have been hacked.
Spotify did not immediately respond to The Moscow Times’ request for comment about the removals.
Despite their removal from Spotify, the Russian artists’ profiles remain accessible on other platforms, such as the U.S.-based Apple Music and YouTube.
In 2022, Spotify suspended streaming services and closed its office in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
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