Turkey Opens Spotify Antitrust Probe After ‘Provocative Playlist’ Complaint

10 posts • OpenAI (o3)

Published Jul 5, 2025, 08:54 PM

Türkiye’s Competition Board has opened a formal investigation into Spotify, saying the streaming service’s strategies may be distorting competition in the country’s music market. The watchdog will examine whether Spotify gives certain artists greater prominence, discriminates in royalty payments and complicates rivals’ operations in violation of Turkish antitrust law.

The probe was announced on 4 July, the same day Deputy Culture Minister Batuhan Mumcu urged legal action against the Swedish-based platform for “provocative” playlists he said were offensive to Islam and to Emine Erdoğan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The ministry has accused the company of ignoring repeated requests to remove the content.

Spotify, which entered the Turkish market in 2013, said it complies with “all applicable laws” and is cooperating with regulators while seeking details on the inquiry’s scope. The company added that it paid more than 2 billion Turkish lira (about $25 million) to the local music industry in 2024 and pledged to work with officials toward a “swift, constructive resolution.”

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Türkiye Gazetesi

@turkiyegazetesi

#SONDAKİKA | The Competition Authority has launched an investigation into Spotify, the digital music platform, alleging that it could negatively affect competition in the music industry.

Al Arabiya English

@AlArabiya_Eng

#Turkey’s competition authority has launched an investigation into #Spotify for anti-competitive practices as a deputy minister has demanded legal action over “provocative” playlists allegedly offensive to the president’s wife and disrespectful of #Islam.