Spotify reportedly punishing artists who offer exclusives to other streaming services

The streaming service is allegedly burying the songs of artists with exclusives

Spotify is reportedly punishing artists that have released their music exclusively on other streaming services.

According to Bloomberg, the Swedish company has been attempting to combat its rival’s exclusive deals by making it more difficult to find the music of artists who’ve launched albums on other services.

Since launching its own music streaming service last year, Apple has signed a number of deals with artists, including Drake and Chance the Rapper, to secure a period of exclusivity. Tidal also has attempted to attract customers to subscribe with exclusive releases from Beyoncé and Kanye West.

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Spotify have allegedly been burying the songs of artists who have exclusives and removing them from feature playlists to try dissuade labels from granting exclusives.

Last week, the company criticised the policy of album exclusivity on streaming services.

Troy Carter, Spotify’s global head of creator services, called the practice “bad for artists, bad for consumers, and bad for the whole industry,” in an interview with Billboard.

He added that Spotify is not planning to compete with its rivals for exclusives with artists.

Carter’s comments come days after Universal Music Group have reportedly decide to stop offering exclusives to streaming services after the release of Frank Ocean’s ‘Blonde’.

Last month, Kanye West criticised the aggressive competition between Apple Music, Tidal and Spotify and called on the three companies to “let the kids have the music”.

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