My Spotify Playlist Was Banned: A Growing Controversy of Spotify’s Inexplicable Playlist Bans

PlaylistSubs
3 min readSep 26, 2023

In the vast landscape of digital music streaming, Spotify stands as a giant, offering listeners a treasure trove of tracks and artists. However, amidst its vast library, there has been growing frustration and confusion among independent playlist curators who claim to have faced unjust bans from the platform.

These bans are shrouded in mystery, with Spotify citing vague violations of its terms and conditions. What’s more concerning is the apparent lack of response or assistance from Spotify’s support channels, leaving playlist curators in the dark.

The Mysterious Bans

Playlist curators on Spotify have reported receiving generic emails from the platform, informing them of the ban with a statement that reads:

“We have detected that your account is involved in unauthorized use of the Spotify service in violation of the terms. For this reason, we have blocked the public availability of one or more of your playlists.”

The issue, however, lies in the fact that many of these playlist curators vehemently deny any wrongdoing and have been unable to get any satisfactory explanation from Spotify regarding their ban.

Frustrating Attempts to Seek Answers

The perplexing situation is exacerbated by the apparent lack of responsiveness from Spotify’s support channels. Playlist curators have reported trying to reach out to Spotify support numerous times, only to be met with silence or dismissive responses.

Support agents either leave conversations abruptly or claim to have no information regarding the bans. In some rare instances, promises to escalate the issue to an internal team have gone unfulfilled, leaving playlist curators in a state of frustration and confusion.

Is There a Conspiracy?

The question that arises amidst these perplexing circumstances is whether there is a conspiracy at play. While it’s easy to jump to conclusions, there’s a need for transparency and accountability on Spotify’s part. Independent playlist curators who have worked diligently to create engaging playlists for listeners deserve answers and explanations when their accounts face bans.

Discrepancies in Enforcement

What adds another layer of concern to this situation is the apparent inconsistency in Spotify’s enforcement of its rules. While independent playlist curators are reporting bans without clear violations, there exist playlists that openly flout Spotify’s rules.

These playlists offer paid placements to artists, promote paid streams and followers, and even include URLs to their websites in playlist descriptions, which is not only against Spotify’s rules but can also be illegal in some countries. Surprisingly, many of these playlists have been operating for extended periods without any apparent repercussions.

Note: The screenshot below captures a real website that offers paid playlist placements. We strongly recommend not to use such services. EVER!

Example of a website that offers paid playlist placements. The playlists have a link to the website in their very Spotify playlist descriptions yet Spotify keeps them up and running for years and years.

Raise Awareness,

The controversy surrounding Spotify’s mysterious bans on independent playlists is a cause for concern in the music streaming world. Independent playlist curators who contribute to the platform’s diversity and help lesser-known artists gain exposure should not be left in the dark when their accounts face bans.

It’s crucial that we raise awareness about this issue, sharing our experiences and concerns on social media platforms. By collectively voicing our frustrations and actively seeking answers from Spotify, we can bring attention to this matter and compel Spotify’s management to provide the clarity and transparency that playlist curators deserve. Use hashtag:

#JusticeForPlaylists

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