Advertisement
Spotify confirms removal of ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ protest song, points to action by tune’s creator-distributor
- Move follows similar dropping of anti-government tune on other music-streaming platforms, as city authorities seek ban
- Creator ‘ThomasDGX & HongKongers’ says it is facing technical issues and apologises for temporary service disruption, but does not elaborate
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
21
Music-streaming service Spotify on Thursday said popular versions of the controversial protest song “Glory to Hong Kong” had been removed by its distributor, echoing a statement by the tune’s creator the night before.
Advertisement
Cantonese and instrumental versions of the song, popular with protesters during the 2019 anti-government unrest, became unavailable to users of Spotify and other music-streaming platforms, including Taiwan’s KKBox, Hong Kong’s Moov and Apple Music, on Wednesday.
A Hong Kong court is due to hear the government’s application for an injunction to ban the song’s circulation, but a local solicitor expressed concern that potential respondents might find it difficult to assess their stakes in the case due to a lack of supporting documents.
The government filed the application last week to ban the song, preventing those harbouring criminal intent from “broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing” the tune “in any way”.
A spokeswoman for Spotify on Thursday said in a short statement provided to the Post the songs were removed by the distributor and not the platform.
Advertisement
Advertisement