For those who don’t know, Spotify is a freemium, music streaming service that provides DRM-protected content from record labels and media companies. It is available in most of Europe, most of the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and parts of Asia.
One of the features it provides is browsing the Top 50 chart of each country. This is what you see on the mobile app when doing so:
Notice the one country that sticks out (besides Bulgaria, for which there seems to be a glitch)?
It is Israel of course, which seems to be the only country for which the graphic does not include a map.
I tend to not believe in coincidences and think something else is going on here.
Is it a huge deal? Perhaps not – I would not place it in the same category as, say, calling Israel “Palestine.” But if deliberate, it is a manifestation of treating us differently than other countries and perhaps not acknowledging our borders.
I will be reaching out to Spotify to see what they have to say.
Hat tip: Micki
Update: While I have yet to receive a response, Spotify have responded to reader Miki:
I call BS. Israel is the only country without a map (besides Bulgaria, which as I mentioned above, seems to be the victim of a glitch since they do not even have a graphic). Plus why do they mention Gaza?!
