For a brief moment last July, Spotify came under considerable pressure in Türkiye, with the country’s competition regulator announcing an investigation into allegedly anticompetitive practices, just as Deputy Culture Minister Batuhan Mumcu laid into the company’s content moderation systems, which he said were allowing through content that was “incompatible with the cultural and moral values of our nation”.
But by the end of August the pressure had eased somewhat after Mumcu’s boss announced he’d had a productive meeting with Spotify execs, who had committed to open a new office in Istanbul in order to placate critics within the Turkish government.
Making good on that commitment, Spotify has now confirmed that the new office will be up and running by the end of June, while also announcing other ways that the streaming service intends to help out the Turkish music community, including local editorial and masterclasses for local artists and industry.
“Opening an office in Istanbul is not a symbolic move for Spotify, it’s a structural one”, says Spotify’s new MD for Türkiye, Akshat Harbola. “Türkiye is a priority market for us, and deepening our presence reflects our long-term commitment to the country’s music ecosystem, its creators and its culture”.
“Strong, long-term growth comes from collaboration”, Harbola continues, and that means “working closely with the local music industry”, while also checking in with those former critics and now best buds in government of course. “We’re incredibly grateful to the Ministry Of Tourism And Culture for its ongoing support as we deepen our roots in Türkiye”, Harbola remembers to add.
The announcement was carefully timed on Friday to coincide with the new collaborative album from Turkish rappers UZI and Motive, ‘Mortal Kombat’, topping Spotify’s Top Global Albums Debut chart. That, says the streaming service’s statement, is “the first time an album from Türkiye has become number one globally, signalling a new era for Turkish music on the world stage”.