Spotify Is on the Road to Remove Its Services From Russia

Spotify has announced that the company will be shutting off its service completely in Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February has started a wave of many companies withdrawing their product from the aggressor. Spotify sanctions will work for an indefinite time. Previously, the company wanted to remain in the country to support the free media that spread true information about the invasion. But, with new laws on free speech, Spotify decided to refrain from further connections in order to protect its listeners and workers.

The premium services stopped working earlier in March, and now the app is working on withdrawing from the market. Spotify has officially banned RT and Sputnik from its platform, as these media outlets are sponsored by the government that promotes false information.

As to the economical part of the question, Spotify probably won’t be that affected by withdrawing from the Russian region. Of course, it will affect the power that the company previously had in the country. The Russian Federation has taken 1 percent of Spotify’s total revenue, and the platform has a major place among all of the other streaming services in Russia. The installs have reached around 15 million on App Store and Google Play combined.

Other platforms like Apple and Deezer have taken action in early March, removing their product from the country. Despite the pressure to make a change, Spotify has halted its decisions until now. Currently, the company shows full support for Ukraine. Hopefully, such sanctions will show the Russian government the results of its actions against the neighboring country.

Do you think Spotify will be affected by its decision? What moves for support have you made against invasion? Please, share your opinion in the comments below.