The Swedish online music giant Spotify is drawing a line under its paid subscriptions in Russia, made almost impossible by the sanctions on bank cards and means of payment in the country, he announced Thursday.
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“Due to the new restrictions put in place by the main payment providers, the majority of Premium users in Russia can no longer make their payments,” a spokesperson for the world’s number one audio platform told AFP.
Paid accounts “will be canceled if monthly payment fails and the account will be automatically switched to our free service,” he said in a written statement.
Spotify did not immediately confirm the number of subscribers it will lose in Russia, but according to the American magazine varietyhe intends to revise downwards his forecast of subscribers to 1.5 million at the end of the first quarter.
The free service remains available “to allow the global flow of information” to continue to circulate, indicates the world number one podcast, stressing “that art and information are powerful forces for good”.
The New York-listed group had already announced last week the closure of its offices in Russia and the removal of Russian state-sponsored content from its site.