Music streaming giant Spotify will soon allow you to mute artists you don’t want to listen to.
Spotify is set to enable a ‘block’ feature on its apps to allow users to block artists they don’t want to hear from, according to a report in Thurrott. The company is currently testing the much-requested feature for users throughout the app.
Block artists you dislike
In an upcoming update, Spotify will allow users to block music from certain artists on their personal libraries, curated playlists, charts, radio stations and all other elements of the app. It will not block tracks an artist has featured on, as guest features are often listed in the song’s title, rather than as collaborators within the Artist category on the platform. For now, it will only be available on mobile.
The new feature will be accessible from the ‘…’ menu on an artist’s page, which will give you the option to click ‘Don’t play this artist’, blocking their music on your particular account. To play music from an artist someone has previously blocked, users must head back to the artist’s page and unblock them.
In 2017, the company said it had decided not to offer “blocking/hiding or blacklisting artists or tracks on Spotify”, but it looks like it has since changed its tune. The platform already has a ‘Like/Dislike’ button, which was introduced to improve suggested content in automated playlists and radio stations.
A growing movement
The introduction of this feature from Spotify comes as the #MuteRKelly movement gathers pace. The campaign to boycott the recording artist’s back catalogue stems from years of sexual misconduct allegations, which have come to a head following the release of Surviving R Kelly, a documentary series featuring some of his alleged victims.
Artists such as Lady Gaga and Chance the Rapper have removed their collaborations with Kelly from streaming platforms including Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music.
Spotify app on mobile device. Image: wdnet/Depositphotos