With Ukraine Conflict Escalating, Music Platforms Are Ceasing to Do Business with Russia

Spotify, Live Nation, and other entertainment companies join music entertainers in ceasing business with Russia, including live concerts.

The music industry is fighting back against the Eastern Europe conflict between Russia and Ukraine. On Wednesday, Live Nation and Spotify announced that they'd be ceasing business with Russia, according to Deadline.

“Live Nation joins the world in strongly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” said the company's written statement. “We will not promote shows in Russia, and we will not do business with Russia. We’re in the process of reviewing our vendors so we can cease work with any and all Russian-based suppliers.”

On Wednesday, Spotify announced that its Russian office is closed because of “unprovoked attack on Ukraine.” According to Russian law, social media companies with more than 500,000 daily users must have local offices in the country, but Spotify has decided to pull out.

“Our first priority over the past week has been the safety of our employees and to ensure that Spotify continues to serve as an important source of global and regional news at a time when access to information is more important than ever,” said the company's statement.

Since Russia embarked on an invasion prompted by Russian President Vladimir Putin last Thursday, multiple artists have spoken out against the invasion and canceled concerts in the country. According to Pitchfork, rockers Green Day, HEALTH, Nick Cave have cancelled Russian shows, while The Killers and Iggy Pop have called off their appearances at Park's Live festival in Moscow in June. Russian rapper Oxxxymiron has also cancelled six sold-out concerts in Russia.

The Weeknd also caught heat on Twitter for attempting make a "big announcement" while missiles were being launched towards Ukraine. He later deleted the tweets and made an apology.

Last Thursday, Russian forces began a full-scale invasion on Ukraine to halt the country from joining NATO’s expansion agenda. The move followed months of military buildup along the Ukrainian border.

President Joe Biden released an official statement about Russia's attack.

“President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable,” Biden said.

Read below at how American artists are responding to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.