The music distributor FreshTunes has been fined 2.5 million roubles (US$28,000) for “LGBT propaganda.”

The Tagansky District Court of Moscow has fined the music distributor FreshTunes over several tracks by the artist SHIIANOV that were published on Yandex Music. This was reported by Mediazona.

The case concerns the tracks “We Both Lost,” “Metastases,” “Let’s Not Fall in Love (Avoidant Type),” “Something in You” and others. These tracks have now been removed from the platform.

In court, representatives of FreshTunes requested that the experts who had compiled the report on the songs be summoned, as well as a representative of Roskomnadzor, and that an expert assessment be carried out. The judge refused. The company’s representative stated that while the songs might contain depictions of LGBT themes, they do not constitute “propaganda.”

The court imposed a fine of 2.5 million roubles (US$28,000) on the company under Part 4 of Article 6.21 of the Administrative Code.

At the hearing, a FreshTunes representative said the company had advertised a vacancy for a specialist who would listen to music and check its compliance with Russian legislation.

FreshTunes is a digital music distribution service for independent artists and labels. It was founded in 2016 by Russian entrepreneur Nikolai Okorokov. At various times, the company has worked with the rapper Markul and the bands Molchat Doma and Dajte Tank (!).