After 7 years of shutdown, Spotify is coming back to Turkey

Spotify announced to reopen its Turkey office in Istanbul in June, nearly seven years after shutting down its local operations.  Spotify closed its Turkey office in 2018 and has since managed its operations for the country from abroad.

The company is also expanding its regional leadership structure including Turkey. Akshat Harbola has been appointed to oversee operations across Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa.

Spotify said the Istanbul office will be gradually expanded throughout the year, with local hiring planned for several teams. The move aims to deepen the company’s engagement with Turkey’s music industry and strengthen on-the-ground operations. (Let me note that there were no details about the shutdown in 2018 and the office has been restructured, distributing the teams to other regional offices)

Turkish-language music gains traction

Interest in Turkish-language music abroad has risen sharply in recent years, according to company data. About 52 million users outside Turkey listened to at least one Turkish song in 2025, according to company’s announcement. Overseas streams of Turkish music climbed roughly 160% between 2020 and 2025, the company claimed.(By the way I have a story here about one of Sezen Aksu’s song has been generated with the help of Aı)

Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom were among the top markets for Turkish music. Leading artists included Lvbel C5, BLOK3, Semicenk, Tarkan and Ezhel, per Spotify.

Image: ChatGPT