Violent Extremist Music Prevalent on Spotify, While Platform Largely Declines to Act

COE found that many RMVE artists are not only using Spotify to share their music but are also becoming “verified” artists on the platform. Verified artists can expand their fanbases using Spotify’s tools and metrics and can be included in playlists produced by Spotify itself.

It’s very easy to become a verified artist on Spotify, and it’s not clear whether or how the platform exercises any oversight over the process. COE found multiple verified artists who are producing RMVE music and sharing links in their profiles to other extremist spaces: 

·  Pugilato NSHC (National Socialist Hardcore) – Pugilato NSHC is a Spanish RMVE band with 4,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. The band’s lyrics promote National Socialism, and their music is featured on multiple Spotify RAC playlists. The band’s most recent single, titled “A3OB(AZOV),” is a song supporting the fighting of the AZOV Regiment in Ukraine which has been celebrated by many in the RMVE community for its past connections to neo-Nazism. Another song, “Sacrificio y Disciplina” (Sacrifice and Discipline), references Otto Skorzeny, a member of the Nazi Waffen-SS, as an individual to look up to in terms of  fighting their perceived enemies. The lyrics read: “Enemies and trash today, tomorrow and always, We’ll stand firm, true dissidents, We’ll stand strong, we don’t fear death, As Skorzeny said, Live dangerously!” In Pugalito NSHC’s Spotify artist description, there are links to the group’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages which also produce extremist content. 

·  DJ Dark Matter – DJ Dark matter is a producer of Hardstyle music (a heavier version of techno) and his songs featured on Spotify include “International Clique,” which references and includes audio from a speech given by Adolf Hitler, as well as “Open Borders,” a song that includes audio of Tucker Carlson and promotes the racist, xenophobic and antisemitic Great Replacement Theory. DJ Dark matter includes links in his Spotify profile that take listeners to his archive, which houses his more explicit RMVE music. He also includes links to in his profile to a plethora of other extremist artists’ music and films, making it a powerful resource in radicalizing individuals.    

·  Wiking 1940 – Wiking 1940 is an Italian NSBM band whose songs are on Spotify. The band is made of two members, one of whom goes by the name Lord Himmler (a reference to the Nazi politician Heinrich Himmler.) Their songs on Spotify include their biggest single, “Sonnenrad,” which is a Nordic symbol synonymous with the far-right. The song opens with audio from an Adolf Hitler speech and includes antisemitic lyrics. Like other NSBM bands, Wiking 1940’s music revolves around war, specifically World War II, and takes the perspective of the Axis Powers. The band’s music is featured on more than 20 playlists on Spotify, including the “Black Metal Essentials” playlist, which is curated by the platform itself (not individual users.)  

As in the case of Wiking 1940, verified extremist artists are eligible for inclusion on Spotify’s curated playlists, which can introduce unknowing listeners to extremist music. For instance, the music of NSBM band Wiking 1940 can be found in the Spotify curated playlist “Wiking 1940 radio.” (see image below.) Spotify also recommended to COE’s Spotify account a Fashwave mix playlist that was created by the platform and included multiple RMVE artists. These “mix” playlists are created by Spotify for individual users based on their listening history.  

Spotify users can easily share and create RMVE-inspired playlists. By searching for the term “Fashwave,” COE researchers found 72 playlists on Spotify. These playlists (made by Spotify users) had titles such as Fashwave, Based Mvsic, Fashwave, 14/88 (an explicitly RMVE code), or Right Wing Death Squad. Similarly, a search for “Rock Against Communism” yielded five playlists, some of which included extremist imagery such as a totenkopf. Extremist imagery was often found on the “album” covers for RMVE playlists. In a search for NSBM playlists, COE found at least 23 playlists with cover art that included neo-Nazi imagery. 

Despite adding explicit anti-extremist guidelines to their content policy, Spotify allows extremist content to flourish. Between the extremist content found in some artists’ bios, the RMVE messaging in some band’s lyrics and the RMVE imagery found in the cover art, Spotify still has considerable work to do in implementing its new policy.  

ADL notes that Wiking 1940 and Pugilato NSHC’s music was removed following ADL’s communication with Spotify. While users can still search for these artists and they still appear in playlists, their songs are not currently playable.

The article is published courtesy of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).