Don't like R. Kelly anymore? Spotify might let you block artists soon

The Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly is causing an uproar due to its extremely disturbing (although not at all surprising) portrayal of the popular R&B artist’s private life. In response, people are calling for R. Kelly’s music to be banned from radio stations, TV shows, movies, etc.

However, Spotify is apparently working on a new tool which will put the power to ban an artist from your life into your own hands (via Thurrott). The blocking tool is currently in a testing phase with only a select number of users able to see it.

The block tool will stop an artist’s music from appearing throughout the Spotify app. This would include searches, playlists, Discover Weekly, Daily Mixes, global charts, etc., effectively erasing the artist from that user’s entire Spotify library. The only items the feature wouldn’t block would be guest spots by an artist on other people’s tracks.

Although the existence of a beta program for this blocking feature doesn’t necessarily mean it will receive a wide public rollout, the ability to block artists is something Spotify users have wanted for a long time. As such, it’s likely this will eventually happen.

What’s not clear is whether blocking artists will be reserved for Spotify Premium members only, or whether users on the no-cost tier of the service will have a limited number of blocks they can issue out.

This block feature could net some fascinating data for Spotify. After all, if a huge subset of users blocks R. Kelly, that could help push Spotify to remove his music entirely from the service again (and stick with it). This could put a lot of power into the hands of the music listening public.

What do you think? Will you use this Spotify blocking tool if and when it makes its way to the app? Let us know in the comments.

NEXT: Spotify’s new Car View makes it easier to control your music while driving