Kanye West: Spotify CEO reacts to rumours rapper’s music could be removed from streaming platform

Daniel Ek suggested the matter is out of his hands

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has revealed the condition under which Kanye West’s music will be removed from the platform in the wake of controversy.

In recent days, the rapper has been dropped by Adidas, Balenciaga andVogue magazine due to antisemitic comments he made earlier this month. His Madame Tussauds waxwork has also been moved to an archive.

West’s talent agency CAA has also cut ties with him, and film company MCR said it would not distribute a recently completed documentary about the rapper, too. West has refused to apologise for the offence he’s caused.

However, despite calls to remove his music from Spotify, Ek has said that, while West’s comments were “awful”, songs by the artist, who is legally known as Ye, will remain available for subscribers as long as his label permits it.

“It’s really just his music, and his music doesn’t violate our policy,” Ek told Reuters, adding: “It’s up to his label, if they want to take action or not.”

Ek explained that, if West had made antisemitic comments in a song or a podcast, then it would not have been uploaded to Spotify.

West’s label, Def Jam, commented: “There is no place for antisemitism in our society,” but did not announce any plans to remove his music from Spotify.

According to Forbes magazine, West’s net worth dropped from $2bn (£1.74bn) to $400m (£348m) overnight after he was dropped by Adidas.