TIDAL has introduced a new feature allowing users to outright block artists from their listening experience.
Tuesday, the artist-owned streaming service shared an update that will allow the muting of specific artists and songs so that they no longer appear in algorithm-controlled playlists and artist radio. To apply the blocked status to an artist, TIDAL has added a button to the track display that will allow users to quickly block the song in question or the artist's entire back catalog.
Talks of similar moves from Spotify and others were brought to the forefront in light of the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly. The details of the multi-part documentary revived the public discussion on R. Kelly's past, ultimately resulting in the end of his relationship with RCA Records.
"After years of profiting from R. Kelly, despite their knowledge of his sexual abuse of black girls, Sony's RCA is finally acting," Color of Change's Arisha Hatch told the New York Times in a statement last month. At the time, some called for specific streaming services to remove Kelly's music altogether.
Following a lengthy apology note to fans, Lady Gaga had her 2013 Kelly collab "Do What U Want" scrubbed from streaming services. "[M]y intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was angry and still hadn't processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life," Gaga said of the track's origins. Shortly after posting that note, Gaga's team had fully removed the song from all major streaming services.
