Turkey opens Spotify probe after 'provocative playlist' complaint
In a statement released on Friday, the competition authority said it had opened an investigation into "various allegations that the strategies and policies implemented by Spotify... in Turkey has caused anti-competitive effects in the music industry".
It said the probe would seek to establish whether Spotify gave more visibility to some artists and engaged in unfair practices in the distribution of royalties, thereby violating the competition law.
The investigation was announced the same day as deputy culture minister Batuhan Mumcu called for legal action against Spotify in a post on X, citing its "refusal" to respond to requests to remove playlists with names deemed offensive.
"Spotify persistently refuses to take the necessary steps despite all our previous warnings," he wrote.
"Content that targets our religious and national values and insults the beliefs of our society has not been corrected," he added, saying Turkey had been "closely monitoring content on Spotify for a long time".
- 'Targeting... sacred values' -
He pointed to content published "under the guise of 'playlists'.. that disregards our religious sensitivities toward our Prophet Mohammed, deliberately and unacceptably targeting the beliefs, sacred values, and spiritual world of our people".
He also singled out playlists allegedly targeting Emine Erdogan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which were "insidiously provocative and morally unacceptable".
"This irresponsibility and lack of oversight, which disregards the sensitivities of our society, has now become a legal matter.. I call on our competent institutions to take action," he wrote.
Attached to his post was an animated graphic showing a string of playlists with names referencing either Erdogan's wife or the life of the Prophet Mohammed.
In a statement, Spotify, which launched in Turkey in 2013, said its operations complied with "all applicable laws" but it would cooperate with the investigation although it lacked "details on the inspection's scope or focus".
"We are cooperating with the investigation, are actively seeking to understand it, and will work toward a swift, constructive resolution with the Turkish Competition Authority," the statement said, without making any mention of the playlist allegations.
It said in 2024, it had paid "over 2 billion Turkish lira ($25 million) to the local music industry" with its service playing a "pivotal (role) in growing Turkish artists' royalties globally".
bur-hmw/jj
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Black America Web
4 hours ago
- Black America Web
Joe Rogan Calls Trump's Immigration Raids ‘Insane'
It looks like podcast host Joe Rogan has been sleepwalking or just willfully ignored President Trump's continuous pattern of lying, but the popular podcaster who endorsed Donald Trump during the 2024 election, is shocked that the Trump administration has been aggressively pursuing undocumented workers. On the July 2 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan said that President Trump vowed to go after undocumented violent criminals and instead has been going after construction workers and gardeners. 'There's two things that are insane,' Rogan said, Salon reports. 'One is the targeting of migrant workers — just construction workers, just gardeners. Like, really?' The Department of Homeland Security has defended the masked raids by ICE officers, claiming that most of those who have been detained have criminal records. But, an ABC News analysis found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shifted from going after 'the worst of the worst' to chasing down and detaining immigrant workers. '[B]eginning May 25, the data appears to show there was a shift in enforcement — with individuals with criminal convictions making up only 30% of those arrested. Those arrested with pending criminal charges accounted for 26% of the individuals arrested and 44% had no criminal history,' ABC News found. Rogan also noted that the Trump administration has been going after international students, pointing to the case of the Tufts University Turkish student who wrote an opinion piece criticizing Israel. 'That's enough to get you kicked out of the country?' he asked his guest, Replit CEO Amjad Masad. Rogan's about-face comes after his full-throated support of Trump, not only endorsing him to his 14 million listeners, but calling him 'the most competent choice.' Salon notes that in recent months, Rogan '…he has grown more critical, previously calling deportations to El Salvador 'horrific' and warning that 'innocent people' are being caught in broad enforcement efforts.' See social media's reactions below. Joe Rogan Calls Trump's Immigration Raids 'Insane' was originally published on
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Erdogan, pro-Kurdish MPs meet in 'new phase' of rapprochement
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish DEM party Monday to discuss the next steps after PKK militants agreed to end their decades-long insurgency. DEM, Turkey's third-biggest party, has played a key role in facilitating an emerging peace deal between the government and jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, whose Kurdish militant group is expected to begin laying down its weapons later this week. The meeting, which lasted just over an hour, brought together Erdogan, Efkan Ala, a senior figure in his ruling AKP, and spy chief Ibrahim Kalin with DEM lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar. "Our delegation conveyed their views and suggestions on the new stage the process has reached and what to do next," the DEM lawmakers said in a brief statement after the talks. DEM lawmaker Buldan called the meeting "historic". "The process is now entering a new phase in which consultations are needed," she told reporters before the meeting. "It is important to consult to take the necessary steps," she added, saying the sides would "exchange views". Fellow DEM lawmaker Mithat Sancar said the new phase was "very important" and that they would use the meeting to "share our views" and to "listen to them". "We will consult with the president and his delegation about the characteristics of this new phase and the upcoming requirements." On Sunday, the pair held a "very productive" meeting with Ocalan on Imrali prison island. The jailed 76-year-old PKK founder also characterised the upcoming talks with Erdogan as "historic". He told them a parliamentary commission being set up would "play a major role" in directing the peace process. The meeting came as the PKK was to hold a ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan to start destroying a first tranche of weapons -- which will likely take place on or around July 10-12. Erdogan said the move would give momentum to peace efforts with the Kurds. The disarmament process is expected to unfold over the coming months. bur-hmw/jhb


Buzz Feed
10 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
Zayn Malik Calls Out Racism From One Direction Days
Over the weekend, Zayn Malik shared a brief snippet of a new song that he's set to release soon, titled 'Fuchsia Sea.' Zayn also shared the track's lyrics to his Instagram story, and it wasn't long before fans noticed one standout line that referenced the racism he experienced during his One Direction days. For context, One Direction was formed back in 2010 after solo artists Zayn, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Liam Payne — who sadly died last year — were put together on The X Factor. Of course, the boyband was absolutely huge, releasing five different albums — and going on four tours — in the space of five years. Zayn left the band in 2015 to embark on his solo career, and the rest of the group parted ways in 2016. Zayn was the only non-white and Muslim member of the band; his father is of Pakistani descent. And sadly, the singer has faced some horrific racism over the years. Back in 2012, right-wing American blogger Debbie Schlussel released a disgusting post accusing Zayn of 'pimping Islam' to his young fans. 'Zayn Malik is pimping Islam on your kids. That's in addition to his Arabic tattoos and frequent donning of the keffiyeh, the official garb of Islamic terrorism,' she wrote in part. The following year, American rapper Rucka Rucka Ali released a horrific track called 'Zayn Did 9/11,' which featured lyrics that blamed the singer for the tragic September 11 terrorist attacks. In 2014, Zayn faced a heap of death threats for simply tweeting #FreePalestine. And in 2015, Bill Maher made a disgusting 'joke' comparing Zayn to the 2013 Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Zayn has also temporarily deleted his X (formerly Twitter) account due to horrific abuse over the years, and even directly addressed repeatedly being called a 'terrorist.' With all this in mind, numerous internet users have praised Zayn for now speaking out about his experience in his soon-to-be-released song. 'im very proud of him for saying it as openly and bluntly as he did,' one person tweeted. 'Good on him for speaking out. He was called vile and abhorrent names and things said about him,' someone else echoed. 'Good for him! People were absolutely vile and nothing was ever said or done about it,' another person said, while one more added, 'I'm so glad he's speaking out through his music especially these days when racism against Asians/south asians is insane.' Zayn hasn't yet revealed when his new song will be released; all we know is that it's 'coming soon.' Watch this space!