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Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has addressed the Joe Rogan controversy in a firm manner in multiple company meetings.
For context, Canadian rocker Neil Young announced on January 24 that he was pulling his music from Spotify because the platform hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, which has been cited for spreading false information about vaccines. The move led to an avalanche of similar terminations and intense online debate.
While Rogan has justified his stance, Spotify has refused to take substantial action against the podcaster, who has an exclusive deal with the platform which ranges above $100 million.
Now, according to The New York Times, Ek made the following statement during a revenue meeting on February 2,
"I think the important part here is that we don’t change our policies based on one creator nor do we change it based on any media cycle, or calls from anyone else. Our policies have been carefully written with the input from numbers of internal and external experts in this space. And I do believe they’re right for our platform. And while Joe has a massive audience—he is actually the number one podcast in more than 90 markets—he also has to abide by those policies."
Spotify's neutral stance over The Joe Rogan Experience
In addition to the above statement, Ek was heard addressing the controversy in a companywide town hall via audio footage obtained by The Verge. He said,
"I understand the premise that because we have an exclusive deal with him, it's really easy to conclude we endorse every word he says and believe the opinions expressed by his guests. That's absolutely not the case."
Ek clarified that The Joe Rogan Experience is licensed content, as opposed to a Spotify original, which the company has creative control over.
"We don't approve his guests in advance, and just like any other creator, we get his content when he publishes, and then we review it, and if it violates our policies, we take the appropriate enforcement actions."
Ek also pointed out that Spotify has removed some Rogan episodes in the past. He then continued,
"There are many things that Joe Rogan says that I strongly disagree with and find very offensive. However, If we want even a shot at achieving our bold ambitions, it will mean having content on Spotify that many of us may not be proud to be associated with. Not anything goes, but there will be opinions, ideas, and beliefs that we disagree with strongly and even makes us angry or sad."
Ek has downplayed the catalog removals as well, stating that he feels the controversy will blow over. This isn't the first of Spotify's blunders, as the company has come under scrutiny for low artist payouts, unreasonable firing policies, and dubious investments in defense technology.
Joe Rogan himself responded to the controversy on his show on January 30, in a ten-minute video. An excerpt from the same reads,
"I'm not trying to promote misinformation. I'm not trying to be controversial. I've never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people and have interesting conversations."
Rogan said that while he sometimes gets things wrong, he said he tries to correct errors. He promised to try and balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people's perspectives to find a better point of view.
But then Rogan followed by defending his decision to book a widely criticized guest and vaccine sceptic, Dr. Robert Malone, who has been suspended from Twitter for spreading misinformation. Rogan stated,
"...{he} is "highly credentialed... and has an opinion different from the mainstream narrative."
Many other musicians, podcasters, and other artists have either removed their content from the platform or pushed their weight behind Young.
The artists who have removed their catalogs include Joni Mitchell, other members of the group Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and R&B artist India Arie, who has also called out Rogan's repeated use of racial slurs.
While it remains to be seen whether this stance will result in further consequences, another callous step by Spotify in a series of disturbing decisions makes the company and its market domination concerning.
