Turkey’s competition authority has opened an investigation into Spotify over alleged anti-competitive practices, while a deputy culture minister has called for legal action against the music streaming platform for hosting playlists deemed offensive to religious values and the president’s wife.
In a statement released Friday, the competition authority said it launched the probe to examine whether Spotify’s strategies in Turkey have had anti-competitive effects in the music sector. It said the investigation would focus on whether the company gave preferential treatment to certain artists and engaged in unfair royalty distribution.
The announcement came the same day Deputy Culture Minister Batuhan Mumcu posted on X, accusing Spotify of ignoring repeated requests to remove content he said was disrespectful toward Islam and Turkey’s national values.
“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.”
Mumcu cited playlists that allegedly mocked the Prophet Muhammad and others that he said insulted first lady Emine Erdoğan. He described the playlists as “insidiously provocative and morally unacceptable.”
“This irresponsibility and lack of oversight has now become a legal matter,” Mumcu wrote, calling on relevant institutions to take action.
Spotify, which launched in Turkey in 2013, said it complies with all applicable laws and would cooperate with the investigation. The company said it had not yet received details about the scope or focus of the investigation.
“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 company said in a statement.
Spotify did not address the playlist allegations directly but said it paid more than 2 billion Turkish lira (approximately $25 million) to the local music industry in 2024 and plays a key role in expanding Turkish artists’ reach globally.
© Agence France-Presse
