Overview

It was a typical Sunday cleaning day, music playing at a moderate volume as I got into my zone. Then, one of my top 5 favorite songs, My Name Is by Eminem, came on but something was definitely off. The lyrics weren’t what I remembered screaming out as a kid. At first, I thought it was a clean version or a radio version but a quick check confirmed it was marked explicit. Still, certain lyrics were missing. Curiosity took over my mind and after about 15 minutes of research, I discovered that not only were the lyrics changed, but Spotify also censors or removes songs that don’t comply with policies against hate speech or offensive content. While I understand the intent, it made me question: shouldn’t listeners have a choice in the matter?

Solution

A pre-song prompt system that gives listeners the ability to approve flagged content before playback, balancing user choice with platform policies.

• Pre-Song Approval Prompt: A message appears before a flagged track plays, stating: “This

song contains flagged content. You have 30 seconds to approve playback”. If approved, the song

plays. If not approved within time frame, it auto-skips to the next track.

• Personalized Content Settings: A settings feature stores user-approved songs in a list, allowing

them to review, remove or change permissions at any time.

Impact

• Boosts user retention: Platforms with better personalization see 15-20% higher engagement. (Music

Streaming Personalization Study, 2023)

• Protects against censorship lawsuits: Instead of removing songs outright, this ensures compliance

while maintaining user choice. (Music Industry Legal Report, 2023)

• Positions Spotify as an industry leader since no streaming service currently offers a user-controlled

content moderation system.