According to the announcement from the Turkish competition authority, the streaming service is suspected of using strategies that have “had competitive effects in the music industry”. Spotify would have given certain artists greater visibility and would also have used unfair practices in the distribution of copyright.
The announcement of the research, and especially its timing, raises questions. The Turkish Viceminister of Culture, Batuhan Mumcu, had already called for legal steps against Spotify on Friday for very different reasons. The Viceminister stated on the Social Network site X that the company refuses to remove playlists with offensive content.
Religious sensitivities
“The content that uses our religious and national values and that insults the beliefs of our society is not corrected,” he writes. In doing so, he criticizes, among other things, playlists “who do not keep bills with our religious sensitivities with regard to our prophet Mohammed”. According to him, some “morally unacceptable” playlists would also fish Emine Erdogan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Spotify, which has been active in Turkey since 2013, states in a response that it complies with legislation. The company emphasizes that it will cooperate with the investigation.