New development in the 'Emine Erdoğan playlists' crisis with Spotify: It may withdraw from Turkey

Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Batuhan Mumcu accused the digital music platform of 'hosting content that targets our society's religious and national values and insults its beliefs.' He specifically stated that 'insidious and provocative' playlists targeting Emine Erdoğan 'do not align with our nation's cultural and moral values' and 'target the unity and solidarity of society.'

According to a report by Euronews, the controversial playlists include titles such as “Songs Emine Erdoğan listens to when her gold faucet breaks” and “Songs Emine Erdoğan listens to while cleaning the palace.”

In 2015, the Erdoğan couple was accused by then-Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu of having a gold faucet in the Presidential Palace—which has 1,000 rooms and cost 350 million dollars to build in Ankara. Denying these claims, President Erdoğan said he would resign if the existence of such a toilet was proven. He had also threatened to file a lawsuit against the CHP leader who first brought the allegations to the agenda.

Following the controversy over the content, Turkey demanded that the Sweden-based Spotify open a physical office in the country. The Competition Authority also launched an investigation to determine whether Spotify is engaging in unfair competition. According to a report by The Times, Spotify stated that it does not want its users to be subjected to censorship and that it is evaluating all possibilities, including 'halting' its operations in the Turkish market or 'withdrawing from the country entirely.'

The investigation launched by the Competition Authority is examining whether the company is engaging in unfair practices in royalty distribution by providing more visibility to certain artists.

Deputy Minister Mumcu had also criticized Spotify last month for not supporting local music. In a post on his X account, he said, “Although international digital platforms like Spotify have a significant user base in the Turkish market, they have neither opened a local representative office nor assumed the responsibility of supporting local music culture.”

He also emphasized that in addition to failing to fulfill tax obligations, 'algorithms that highlight content promoting slang, violence, and the use of prohibited substances' are also unacceptable.

In response, the Turkish non-governmental organization Ifod, which operates in the field of freedom of expression, announced last week that the works of the left-wing folk music group Grup Yorum had been removed from Spotify, and that this occurred under government instruction.

Spotify, for its part, stated that it complies with the laws and is approaching the investigation with cooperation, but that it does not yet have detailed information about the scope of the audit.

Although Spotify, which entered the Turkish market in 2013, has millions of users in the country, Turkey is not a key source of revenue for the company. In 2021, there was also tension between the platform and the government due to non-pro-government podcasts and content.

Spotify had previously threatened to withdraw from Uruguay in 2023 due to a copyright dispute it had with that country. That crisis was later resolved, and Spotify remained in the country.

News Source: 12punto