Spotify Shutters Russia Office, Removes All RT and Sputnik Content

Emilio Mayorga Argentine actor Joaquín Furriel is set to topline Rafa Russo’s next feature, “Devotion” (“Devoción”), which will be produced by Málaga-born producer-director Ezekiel Montes at his label 73140323PC.Spanish actress Elena Martínez, who has starred in Gustavo Hernández’s “Lobo Feroz” and Montes’ admired feature debut “A Dead Man Cannot Live,” which premiered at the Málaga fest last year, will co-star in “Devotion.”Furriel is mainly known for his star turn in Sebastián Schindel’s Guadalajara Actor, New Director double-winner “The Boss, Anatomy of a Crime” and “The Son” by the same director. He was also a standout in the HBO Latin America and Pol-Ka-produced TV show “The Bronze Garden,” recipient of five Telly Awards in 2018 and an international Emmy Awards nomination.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOne might think that, just weeks after his company scraped through the biggest crisis of its existence — its stubborn defense of giving a gigantic international platform, not to mention more than $200 million, to Joe Rogan and his destructive, malignant opinions — Spotify’s Daniel Ek might exercise a little caution and humility.One might think that, after paying millions to Capitol Hill lobbyists in an ongoing battle to pay less to songwriters — the very foundation of his company’s existence — than the Copyright Royalty Board decreed it should pay, he wouldn’t spend even more millions on something as flashy and business-uncritical as sponsorship of a soccer team, especially with Russian bombs killing hundreds of Ukrainian civilians every day. But one would be wrong.

Spotify has shuttered its Moscow office in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.Confirming its Moscow office would be closed “indefinitely”, the streaming platform said they were “providing individual support to our personnel” in Moscow, as well as their “global community of Ukrainian employees”.The new measures have come into place as sanctions have made processing payments in the country impossible.“Due to new restrictions introduced by major payment providers, payment processing is not currently possible for the majority of Premium users in Russia,” a Spotify spokesman told AFP (via Geo News).They added that paid premium accounts “will be cancelled if a recurring payment fails and the account will then be automatically moved to our free service”. The company said it had also “paused all advertising campaigns running in Russia.”In addition to restricting the discoverability of Russian state-affiliated media, the platform previously removed all content from Kremlin-backed outlets RT and Sputnik that was hosted on Spotify in the European Union and other markets.Spotify has stopped short of shutting off access for their Russian users, saying they believe it’s “critically important to try to keep our service operational in Russia to allow for the global flow of information”.

the band’s Twitter account states.The included works that are set to be leaving Russian and Belarusian streaming platforms are Pink Floyd studio albums “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” (1987), “The Division Bell” (1994) as well as 2014’s “The Endless River.” Gilmour has released four solo studio albums in his career, the most recent being “Rattle That Lock” in 2015. His entire solo discography is also being removed from streamers.Last week, Gilmour tweeted in support of Ukraine, writing, “Russian soldiers, stop killing your brothers.

Pink Floyd and David Gilmour are removing their music from streaming services in Russia and Belarus to show their support for Ukraine.Ukraine officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on February 24. At the time of writing, the Russian invasion has killed at least 549 citizens, including 41 children.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify has suspended premium service in Russia after the country launched its war on Ukraine — a move that the audio streaming powerhouse expects to result in a loss of about 1.5 million paying customers in the first quarter of 2022.That’s according to Spotify CFO Paul Vogel, who spoke at Morgan Stanley’s 2022 Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Wednesday. According to a Spotify spokesperson, the loss of its business in Russia is not material: The country represents less than 1% of total revenue.Vogel also alluded to the recent controversy over podcaster Joe Rogan, which has spurred calls to boycott the streamer (but Vogel didn’t identify Rogan by name).Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Vogel, Spotify was trending ahead of its Q1 guidance of adding a net 8 million total users, including 3 million paying customers.

A new “fake news” law is being cited by TikTok as the reason it’s suspending new content and live streaming abilities on its platform in Russia, the app announced on Sunday..

invaded that country on Feb. 24.Host Ken Jennings read the $800 clue in the category “Bordering Russia”: ”The Kerch Strait — along with serious border issues — separates Russia from this country on the Black Sea.”The answer, of course, was Ukraine.The 1.9-mile-long strait separates Russia from Crimea to its west and Ukraine to the north. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and subsequently built a bridge across the strait to connect the two in 2018.

Chris Willman Music WriterHit songwriter Ross Golan, who has crafted smashes for Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, One Direction and Demi Lovato, has started a petition on Change.org asking the music community to stop licensing songs in Russia for as long as the nation wages war on Ukraine.The petition, posted Thursday afternoon here, was put up for the purpose of allowing songwriters to make their voices heard in requesting that collection agencies sever ties with their counterpart orgs in Russia, to ensure that they won’t be profiting from the rogue-superpower nation while the bloody siege of its neighbor country continues.“Currently, a portion of our royalties are going directly to the Russian government, which in turn funds their invasion into Ukraine,” Golan says. The petition — credited to “And the Writer Is,” the podcast Golan started to spotlight writers and their issues — reads: “The global songwriting business stands with Ukraine.

Get the latest updates in the Russia-Ukraine conflict with The Post’s live coverage.“I’m well aware what happens when you’re only able to see one part of a small picture. It becomes your whole world.

Spotify has shuttered its Moscow office in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and will restrict the discoverability of content owned and operated by Russian state-affiliated media.“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the unprovoked attack on Ukraine,” a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement.“Our first priority over the past week has been the safety of our employees and to ensure that Spotify continues to serve as an important source of global and regional news at a time when access to information is more important than ever.”Confirming its Moscow office would be closed “indefinitely”, the streaming platform said they were “providing individual support to our personnel” in Moscow, as well as their “global community of Ukrainian employees”.In addition to restricting the discoverability of Russian state-affiliated media, the platform has also removed all content from Kremlin-backed outlets RT and Sputnik that was hosted on Spotify in the European Union and other markets. Additionally, it has launched a guide on the platform that directs users to localised “trusted news” sources.Spotify has stopped short of shutting off access for their Russian users, however, saying they believe it’s “critically important to try to keep our service operational in Russia to allow for the global flow of information”.“We are exploring additional steps that we can take and will continue to do what is in the best interest of our employees and our listeners,” the statement concluded.Ukraine has been under attack since last Thursday (February 24), when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in the neighbouring country.

Concert promoter Live Nation and streaming service Spotify are the two latest entertainment companies pulling out of further business with Russia.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorYouTube will block Russia state-owned RT and Sputnik channels immediately, with parent company Google citing the Russian attack on Ukraine.Google announced the move Tuesday on Twitter. “Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we’re blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe, effective immediately,” the internet company said. “It’ll take time for our systems to fully ramp up.

including “The Batman,” amid Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The moves comes as Russia escalated its offensive Tuesday by bombing Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and dispatching a 40-mile-long convoy of tanks and other equipment to Kyiv.“In light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, WarnerMedia is pausing the release of its feature film ‘The Batman’ in Russia,” the studio said in a statement, per the Hollywood Reporter.

UK TV trade body Pact has called on its 700-strong member base to suspend all co-operation and trade with Russia.

Russia-Ukraine war.The band, which consists of musicians Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool, was set to perform on May 29 at Spartak Stadium.“With heavy hearts, in light of current events we feel it is necessary to cancel our upcoming show in Moscow at Spartak Stadium,” Green Day wrote on their Instagram Story.“We are aware that this moment is not about stadium rock shows, it’s much bigger than that. But we also know that rock and roll is forever and we feel confident there will be a time and a place for us to return in the future,” the band continued.

Roku is removing RT, Russia’s state-controlled television network, from its channel stores in Europe, according to a Roku spokesperson.