Spotify Platform Rules
Spotify’s mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity – by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it. We believe achieving this mission on our platform is made possible by welcoming different forms of artistic expression, ideas, perspectives, and voices. This may mean that some content on our platform may not be to each individual’s liking or is content that Spotify endorses.
However, that doesn’t mean that anything goes on our platform. In addition to the terms that you agreed to governing your use of our services, these rules help ensure that everyone has a safe and enjoyable experience.
What are the rules?
Whether you are a musician, podcaster, or other contributor, it is important to be aware of what is not allowed on our platform. The examples in the below sections are for illustrative purposes and are not exhaustive.
Table of contents
▷ What happens to rule breakers?
▷ What else do I need to know?
▷ Dangerous Content
Spotify is home to communities where people can create, express themselves, listen, share, learn, and be inspired. Don’t promote violence, incite hatred, harass or engage in any other behavior that may place people at risk of serious physical harm or death. What to avoid:
Content that advocates or glorifies serious physical harm towards an individual or group includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- encouraging, promoting, or glorifying suicide and self-harm (if you or someone you know is struggling or thinking about self-harm, please see here for ways to get help)
- inciting or threatening serious physical harm or acts of violence against a specific target or specific group
- content that promotes or supports violent extremist organizations
Content that targets an individual or identifiable group for harassment or related abuse includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- repeatedly targeting specific individuals with sexual advances
- sharing, threatening to share, or encouraging others to share someone’s private information, including credit card or banking information, National Identity numbers, etc.
Content that incites violence or hatred towards a person or group of people based on race, religion, gender identity or expression, sex, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, veteran status, age, disability or other characteristics associated with systemic discrimination or marginalization includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- praising, supporting, or calling for violence against a person or group of people based on the characteristics listed above
- dehumanizing statements about a person or group based on the protected characteristics listed above
- promoting or glorifying hate groups and their associated images, and/or symbols
Content that promotes dangerous false or dangerous deceptive medical information that may cause offline harm or poses a direct threat to public health includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- asserting that AIDS, COVID-19, cancer or other serious life threatening diseases are a hoax or not real
- encouraging the consumption of bleach products to cure various illnesses and diseases
- promoting or suggesting that vaccines approved by local health authorities are designed to cause death
- encouraging people to purposely get infected with COVID-19 in order to build immunity to it (e.g. promoting or hosting “coronavirus parties”)
Content that illicitly promotes the sale of regulated or illegal goods includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- selling illegal firearms or firearm parts
- selling illegal drugs
- selling endangered species or products derived from endangered species
Content that promotes, solicits, or facilitates child sexual abuse or exploitation includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- visual depictions of a minor engaged in a sexual act or lascivious depictions of a nude minor
- promoting acts of sexual abuse against a child in exchange for money
- encouraging or promoting sexual attraction by adults towards minors
- promoting, normalizing, or glorifying child grooming behaviors
▷ Deceptive Content
Creating great experiences on Spotify requires trust that people are who they say they are, that they won’t be scammed, and that no one is trying to manipulate our platform. Don’t use malicious practices to deceive others. What to avoid:
Content that impersonates others in order to deceive includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- replicating the same name, image, and/or description as another existing creator
- posing as another person, brand, or organization in a misleading manner
Content that promotes manipulated and synthetic media as authentic in ways that pose the risk of harm includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- audio or video recording that comes from a real and valid source that has been altered in a way that changes the meaning or context of the original media and is purported to be true, thus posing a risk of harm to the speaker or other individuals
- audio or visual media artificially created through the use of technology that’s purported to be true, such as digitally manufactured sexual audio and video content or content falsely suggesting that someone committed a crime
Content that attempts to manipulate or interfere with election-related processes includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- misrepresentation of procedures in a civic process that could discourage or prevent participation
- misleading content promoted to intimidate or suppress voters from participating in an election
Content that attempts to take advantage of the Spotify community includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- posting, sharing, or providing instructions on implementing malware or related malicious practices that seek to harm or gain unauthorized access to computers, networks, systems, or other technologies
- phishing or related attempts to deceptively solicit or collect sensitive information
- promoting investment and financial scams like “get rich quick” and pyramid schemes, or otherwise encouraging others to part with money under false pretenses
▷ Sensitive Content
We have tons of amazing content on Spotify, but there are certain things that we don’t allow on our platform. Don’t post excessively violent or graphic content, and don’t post sexually explicit content. What to avoid:
Content that promotes graphic or gratuitous depictions of violence, gore, or other shocking imagery includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- severely mutilated or dismembered bodies
- promoting animal cruelty or torture
Content that contains sexually explicit material includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- pornography or visual depictions of genitalia or nudity presented for the purpose of sexual gratification
- advocating or glorifying sexual themes related to rape, incest, or beastiality
▷ Illegal Content
The law is the law. No matter who you are, it is your responsibility to comply with applicable laws and regulations. What to avoid:
Content that violates applicable laws and regulations includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- content that does not comply with applicable sanctions and export regulations
- content that is intended to promote or commit an illegal act of any kind
Content that infringes the intellectual property rights of others includes, but may not be limited to:
-
- content provided to Spotify without obtaining necessary permissions
- content that infringes third-party copyrights or trademarks
▷ What happens to rule breakers?
We take these decisions seriously and keep context in mind when making them. Breaking the rules may result in the violative content being removed from Spotify. Repeated or egregious violations may result in accounts being suspended and/or terminated.
▷ What else do I need to know?
These platform rules will help ensure that Spotify remains an open and safe platform for all. We will continue to evaluate and update this information as needed, so please check back frequently. Depending on which Spotify products or features you use, you may be subject to additional requirements so please follow those too.
▷ How can I report an issue?
Have you found an issue with a piece of content on Spotify? If so please let us know by reporting it here.