On average, a person will listen to about 961 hours of music a year. The ability to choose what music you listen to is in your hands!
Big-name streaming services and top music players have heard their listeners’ requests to be able to block channels and artists that they don’t want to hear. Aside from creating playlists, many music players now have channel blocking features.
Whether you are wanting to implement parental controls for a child or just don’t like a certain artist, we know the music services that have this capability. Read long to find out who they are and how to access the feature!
Who Has Channel Blocking Features?
Most streaming services and even satellite radio providers have a way of limiting what you don’t want to hear, whether that be artists, genres, or channels. These are just a few…
- SiriusXM
- Spotify
- Apple Music
- Deezer
- Tidal
Some of these are music players with parental control that fully block channels and explicit content. A few of them use algorithms to construct playlists they think that you’d enjoy based on user interaction. For that reason, not all of these should be trusted if you’re looking for kid-friendly stations.
How to Block Music
Every music player has different ways to restrict certain channels or artists. We’ve researched how to do that for you and reported the results below!
SiriusXM
SiriusXM is one of the music players with parental control ability. Go to Browse and select Parental. Once inside the parental section, move into the lock/unlock option, and a list of channels will appear.
This allows you to fully block entire channels that you deem inappropriate. You will see a lock icon if you’ve blocked the channel or a music note icon if it is still available.
SiriusXM also has a family-friendly package with no ads. Check out SiriusXM music for business available now.
Spotify
Of the top music players, we all know about Spotify. While their blocking feature wouldn’t exactly be the same as parental controls, it is good for removing artists you just don’t want to hear.
By going to that specific artists’ page and clicking on the three dots beside the follow button, you can choose the “Don’t play this artist” option. This will take them out of the rotation of your music without creating a playlist.
Apple Music
Apple Music has two options for getting you the music you want to hear and protecting your kids from explicit content. It’s not as in-depth as some of the other music players, but it will get the job done.
With every song that plays, you have the choice to love or dislike. As you do this, the algorithm adjusts, taking your votes into consideration.
If you’re worried about your kids listening to adult themes, you can adjust this by navigating to screen time in your settings. Under “content & privacy,” you can restrict content by tapping on “clean” inside the Music, Podcasts & News section.
Deezer
Deezer is similar to Apple Music in that it allows you to vote on songs and artists. When you select the unhappy emoji, a menu pops up with the option to not recommend the track or artist.
Again, the algorithm adjusts. It’s not perfect and shouldn’t be considered parental control, but it will help block music you don’t want to hear!
Tidal
Tidal lets you block an artist’s channel from playing, similarly to how Spotify does. It also gives a way to prohibit explicit songs for children!
If you want to block an artist’s channel, go to their profile and tap the radio by their name. Choose one of their songs and select the block button.
To block the artist using a browser, search for the artist and click the three dots. Once on their station, pick a track and click delete.
From there you will be able to block the artist completely. If you don’t want to hear that track anymore, just select “block track.”
To get rid of explicit content altogether, head to the explicit content section under music services. Select “no explicit content,” and you are all set!
Is It Foolproof?
Unfortunately, music players that don’t have full parental control ability can still let music through that you might not want your kids hearing. Even if all you are looking for is to avoid a genre or artist, it’s not that easy.
Music providers and streamers that only give you the option to upvote or downvote still leave room for music you’re not interested in. Many listeners have this exact complaint because it can take a while for the algorithm to update to specific tastes.
Creating a playlist or choosing a music player that has channels set with artists or genres is the best bet to getting the music and artists that you want to hear. You could also head back to the dinosaur age, where listeners compiled their own music library from vinyl, cassettes, and CDs.
Get the Music You Want
There are music players out there that provide channel blocking features, and, with the list above, you should be able to pick one to use based on your needs.
Keep in mind that not all of these music suppliers are child-friendly. However, if your goal is to tailor playlists precisely to your tastes, there are plenty that can do that for you.
Thanks for choosing us as your educational source! For more information related to music and music players, continue reading in the music section of our blog.
