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Music streaming platform Spotify's headquarters has launched an investigation of its editors in Türkiye following a series of complaints from artists, according to Turkish media reports.
The investigation comes after singers complained about playlist creation criteria and bribery allegations emerged regarding playlist formation.
Spotify, one of Türkiye's popular digital music platforms, has been the focus of complaints for a long time. Artists have complained, asking, "What criteria are lists created according to?" while bribery allegations were raised regarding playlist creation. Another allegation involves bot uploads.
The Competition Authority announced on July 4 that it had started an investigation into Spotify. Following all these developments, the headquarters of Swedish-origin Spotify started an investigation into its editors in Türkiye.
The investigation focuses on whether Spotify granted unfair visibility to certain artists, discriminated against independent musicians, and disrupted competition by favoring some creators over others.
According to the authority, Spotify may have violated Türkiye's competition law through unequal distribution of royalties and potential abuse of market dominance.
Artists, including Aydilge, Ferhat Gocer, and Oguzhan Koc, had made criticisms directed at Spotify. Singers complained, asking, "What criteria are lists created according to?" while bribery allegations were raised regarding playlist creation. It was also alleged that bot uploads were being made.
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Recent reports suggest Spotify is evaluating whether to suspend or completely end its operations in Türkiye, after a public dispute with government officials over playlists that allegedly insult religious and national values.
The controversy began after user-created playlists referring to first lady Emine Erdogan circulated on the platform. Among them were titles like "Songs Emine Erdogan listened to when her golden faucet broke" and "Emine Erdogan hotgirl playlist."
The Turkish government condemned these lists as offensive and "incompatible with the cultural and moral values of our nation."
Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Batuhan Mumcu accused Spotify of hosting "content that targets our religious and national values and insults the beliefs of our society." He said the platform ignored "the sensitivities of our society" and called for legal action.
A similar case in 2023 saw the company threaten to exit Uruguay over copyright legislation, but it eventually stayed after last-minute changes to the law.
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