Will MONTERO Be Taken Off Streaming Platforms?

4.14.21

MONTERO Call Me By Your Name Lil Nas X

It has been just over two weeks since Lil Nas X released the sneakers and music video which put the entire globe in an uproar. HIs hit single, MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) appears to be about a same-sex relationship, in which Lil Nas X is ultimately found dancing with the devil (literally). In correlation to the music video, he released 666 pairs of Air Max 97 customized by MSCHF, whom allegedly encompassed human blood in their design. With the world upset with anything that may idolize the devil, MSCHF was sued by Nike. Now, we hear that streaming services will also put their foot down, by removing the song from all streaming platforms.

Around 11AM yesterday, Lil Nas X took to Twitter to share that his song was being removed from streaming services, such as Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL, etc. While I would initially automatically say, this is a scam to get people to keep streaming, there are a few interesting things to consider. Firstly, being the label shared the same message. Just a few hours later after Lil Nas X announced his song would be removed from platforms, Columbia Records also shared a tweet stating:

Thanks for all your comments regarding @LilNasX “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” It’s unfortunately out of our control but we are doing everything possible to keep the song up on streaming services. We will keep you up to date as we hear more. Thank you for understanding.

I would not think that the label would play along with this idea just for a prank, or to get more streams, because that seems rather unprofessional. While I am still not fully convinced it is being taken down, they probably were being bombarded with questions and started making phone calls or doing research to ensure this was all a misunderstanding.

Next, is the fact that fans were sharing screenshots that they could not play the songs! If this is not proof, I do not know what is. However, I have numerous times clicked on a song that was said to be unavailable, then I refreshed and it was there. These people sharing screenshots could have poor network service, did not download the song and are not on WiFi, etc. This is a good tactic to continue to push the narrative, which Lil Nas X did by sharing all of these Tweets. However, still not completely convincible.

Finally, platforms are known to take down songs from their platform when they feel they are supporting something wrong. For example, Spotify did remove songs from XXXTentacion when he was going through legal battles of domestic violence with the mother of his child. They also removed tracks from others going through intense legal issues, such as R. Kelly and Tay-K. I think this situation is a bit different. Lil Nas X has not physical harmed anyone, nor has he committed any crime, though some whom are not mentally in 2021 may disagree. Lil Nas X is simply living as his full true self, and happily rubbing it in people’s faces. While worshiping the devil has always been taboo, it has also always been a part of music in a number of genres, so it really should not be removed from platforms because of a music video that typically is not even watched on the platform the majority of the time.

Still, this is about all we have heard this far. There was no statement on what the real reason was that the song would be removed, though we can assume. At this very moment, I am still able to access the song on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube. Of course, there is always the possibility that the platforms are working through some things, and the song could be taken down at anytime. However, I still feel like there is no prominent reason in which the song would be removed, and if they did, why would they still hold back after letting the artist know? In my opinion, this was a scam from Lil Nas X to continue to stream his song. After all, he loves trolling on the internet.