Spotify CEO says company botched anti-hate policy rollout, naming R. Kelly

Spotify’s CEO says the company rolled out its new anti-hate policy in the wrong way.

This month the streaming service announced it would remove R. Kelly and rapper XXXtentacion’s music from its playlists, citing the new policy on hate content and hateful conduct.

While some praised Spotify for its bold move, others criticized the company for singling out particular artists, and requested Spotify also apply the rules for others who have been charged sexual misconduct and violence.

“We rolled this out wrong and could have done a much better job,” Daniel Ek said at the Code Conference on Wednesday in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Spotify targeted R. Kelly because of the multitude of claims that he sexually abused women. The Grammy winner was acquitted in 2008 of child pornography after a video circulated appearing to show him having sex with a teenage girl. He faces no new charges.

XXXtentacion, who had a Top 10 pop hit with “Sad!” and saw his sophomore album reach No. 1 this month, is awaiting trial on charges that he beat up his pregnant girlfriend.

“The whole goal with this was to make sure that we didn’t have hate speech,” Ek said. “It was never about punishing one individual artist or even naming one individual artist.”