Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music Call to Block Russian Music in Ukraine

The public organization “UAASP” – the largest authors’ community in Ukraine – has appealed to government bodies with a request to initiate negotiations with international streaming services regarding the technical blocking of Russian music in Ukraine.

The open appeal was sent to the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Verkhovna Rada, the National Security and Defense Council, as well as to the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language and other government agencies. The letter was signed by 150 Ukrainian artists, including members of the groups “TNMK”, “Druha Rika”, Melovin and others.

The statement says that despite the full-scale war, Russia continues its cultural and information expansion in Ukraine, including through the promotion of Russian-language musical content. The authors of the appeal emphasize that such activities are combined with military actions and terrorist aggression on the part of the Russian Federation.

“The problem here, however, is that it is not the services that promote Russian music in Ukraine, but the residents of our country themselves who do not stop liking and listening to tracks from Moscow over and over again. The charts are not based on algorithms, but on user preferences. Russians in the top music in Ukraine is not the fault of Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, but the legacy of Russian preferences for some Ukrainians” – a comment from our editorial staff.

The organization gave several specific examples. In particular, the Russian-language tracks Sigma Boy and Homey by AY YOLA recently went viral and took the top positions in the Apple Music Ukraine charts. According to the initiators of the appeal, even despite the constant attacks by “shaheed” drones, missiles and shells, the Ukrainian audience continues to actively listen to Russian music, and the Russian side invests significant resources in its promotion.

In addition, the musicians of the above-mentioned Russian bands themselves publicly reported that they receive significant profits from listening from Ukraine, and stated that they are sending these funds to support the Russian military involved in the war against Ukraine.

The UAASP emphasizes that over three years of war, the state has not taken any systemic steps to limit the influence of Russian musical content. In this regard, the authors call on the authorities to begin a dialogue with Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music and other services in order to technically restrict access to Russian music for users in Ukraine. If necessary, to develop and implement appropriate legislation.

The statement notes that the Ukrainian wartime music industry does not have sufficient resources to independently resist a large-scale media technology machine, behind which, as they say, there is coordination of the FSB and funding from Russian oil and gas revenues.

Recall that in February 2025, a petition demanding a ban on Russian-language songs on streaming platforms in Ukraine collected 28 thousand signatures in just five days. Its author, Oleksandr Leonenko, called on the government to amend the legislation to oblige services like Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music to restrict access to such content, regardless of the artist’s citizenship.

The Cabinet of Ministers sent this petition for consideration to the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting, which has the authority to negotiate with foreign companies on blocking content in the Ukrainian segment.

In April 2025, the Verkhovna Rada began discussing a possible ban on access to Russian-language music on streaming platforms for users from Ukraine. During a meeting of the relevant subcommittee on the music industry, it became clear that at the moment there are no effective mechanisms for implementing such a ban, and the streaming platforms themselves refuse to restrict content at the request of the Ukrainian side.