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Spotify has removed a number of artists from its streaming service that were deemed to be “hate bands.”

On Monday, the site Digital Music News published a list of 27 acts that were flagged as white supremacist groups by a Southern Poverty Law Center investigation in 2014. Despite the investigation, they were still on Spotify’s service at the time of the article’s publication.

However, the post seemed to get the music titan’s attention. On Wednesday, Spotify removed several of the artists in question from their catalog, while also releasing a statement via Billboard magazine.

“Spotify takes immediate action to remove any such material as soon as it has been brought to our attention. We are glad to have been alerted to this content – and have already removed many of the bands identified today, whilst urgently reviewing the remainder,” the statement read.

“Illegal content or material that favors hatred or incites violence against race, religion, sexuality or the like is not tolerated by us.”

The list of SPLC-flagged artists included names such as Skinfull, Kill, Baby… Kill! and White Knuckle Driver.

Spotify also announced a new “Patriotic Passion” playlist, which was designed as “a soundtrack to an America worth fighting for.”

Spotify is not the only company to take action in the aftermath of the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Earlier this week, Google and GoDaddy both cut ties with neo-Nazi websites.

President Donald Trump also shut down his business councils after several prominent CEOs quit the groups following the president’s reaction to the rally.

Apple removed the white power artists from iTunes when the SPLC first published the investigation in 2014. The nonprofit then called out Spotify, as well as Amazon, for being slow to act.

Spotify responded at the time by saying “we take this very seriously.”

By Jeremy Layton

http://nypost.com/2017/08/16/spotify-removes-white-supremacist-music-from-service/

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