Spotify still features R. Kelly merch, despite new policies against sex offenders
Earlier this month, Spotify announced a set of new policies implemented in an effort to quell the outrage against offenders with numerous violent or sexual misconduct allegations — like R. Kelly, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault, and is allegedly running a sex cult. But Spotify is still promoting his merch.
These new content rules mean the streaming service will not be promoting R. Kelly's music — or any artist's music that aligns with their "hate content" policy — on promoted playlists or positions on the app.
Since then, Apple Music and Pandora have also quietly removed R. Kelly from its promoted content. While the policy still has plenty of issues (like, which violations made by artists are deemed "bad" enough to issue a removal?), Spotify doesn't appear to be completely cutting ties with these artists, as evidenced by the merch being sold on the platform.
In 2016, Spotify introduced a partnership with Merchbar that allows fans to purchase merchandise from artists, all while streaming their songs. It's a pretty simple marketplace that features branded shirts, socks, and pens of everyone from Dua Lipa to yep, you guessed it: R. Kelly.
You can view merch from R. Kelly and those who chose to opt in on the function in a portal right below an artist's top five popular tracks. Click it, and you'll see information about the product and an option to buy via an affiliate link that leads you to Merchbar's site.
Typically an affiliate link means that the company who sent the customer gets a cut of the money being made on the third party service. When asked, Spotify ensured that they "do not take any percentage of merch sales on the platform." That gets a bit confusing though, because clicking "buy" on Spotify clearly shows an affiliate link.
It's easy to miss because the affiliate link quickly redirects to the normal URL. Here's a GIF that we captured showing the affiliate link switch.
When asked again, a statement from a representative of Spotify said they weren't sure why it was listed as an affiliated link.
It's worth noting that the majority of R. Kelly merch provided by the site via Spotify is listed as out of stock, though it's not clear whether or not that's because of the transgressions of R. Kelly or if it's just because of his fan base and their desire for "Feeling Single" wands. Other sites, like MusicToday or Rockabilia, still sell merch from the singer.
Mashable has reached out to Spotify and Merchbar to gain more insight on whether or not this means platforms like Spotify — who have been at the forefront of distancing themselves from artists like R. Kelly — are impacted by the sale of merch in any way. We'll update this post if we hear back.
Topics Celebrities
