From today (May 10), Spotify will no longer promote R. Kelly through its editorial or algorithmic playlists, including flagship playlists like RapCaviar, Discover Weekly or New Music Friday, Billboard reports.
The decision was taken by the streaming service in light of accusations made against the R&B superstar. Though some of these accusations go back years, they’ve recently been in the spotlight thanks to a number of new women coming forward, and the subsequent #MuteRKelly campaign on social media, launched at the end of April.
The ban is the result of a new public hate content and hateful conduct policy launched by Spotify. However, the ban only stretches to Spotify’s editorial or algorithmic playlists, with the service falling shy of removing the artist’s music from the platform altogether. “His music will still be available on the service, but Spotify will not actively promote it,” Spotify told Billboard in a statement.
“We don’t censor content because of an artist’s or creator’s behavior, but we want our editorial decisions – what we choose to program – to reflect our values. When an artist or creator does something that is especially harmful or hateful, it may affect the ways we work with or support that artist or creator.”
It’s not the first time Spotify has taken action against hateful content on its platform. Last August, the company removed music from “white power” bands in the wake of events in Charlottesville.