![]() ![]() ![]() The R&B artist India.Arie also removed her content from the service, though she extended her circle of critique to include The Joe Rogan Experience’s history with racist statements. Some podcasters, like the author Roxane Gay, removed their shows from Spotify, too. Young’s protest was joined by Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren, David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Stephen Stills, who all similarly moved to pull their music from the service. Not both.” Spotify chose Rogan, obviously, which prompted a string of negative responses from other musicians, artists, and creators. As he put it: “They can have Rogan or Young. This kerfuffle kicked into high gear when Neil Young entered the fray and issued Spotify an ultimatum: Either remove his music from the service, or do something meaningful about the open letter’s complaints about Rogan. Rogan, a committed “freethinker,” often argues that he’s simply keeping an open mind to viewpoints being shouted down by liberal elites. The flash point for critics also lies in his sincere interest when it comes to perspectives from fringe vaccine skeptics like Peter McCullough and Robert Malone. Rogan’s historical stance on COVID-19 is tricky to describe with any precision, but it’s probably most appropriate to frame it as “vaccine skeptic–curious” and “definitely anti–vaccine mandate,” the latter in keeping with his libertarian ethos. This latest round of Rogan-inspired controversy began mid-January, when more than 270 medical professionals wrote an open letter to the company criticizing the rampant spread of COVID-19 misinformation on Spotify and singling out The Joe Rogan Experience as a prime vector for that misinformation. But hey, what bold move doesn’t come with risks, right? All this generated what is inarguably the most negative round of headlines in Spotify’s history.īut if Spotify is to win, it’s not going to be in straight sets, as the past few weeks have indicated. Sure, given Rogan’s history as a lightning rod for controversy, the deal will probably bring its share of inconveniences. The deal theoretically created remarkable distance between the company and its would-be rivals, buying enough time - however long the agreement lasts the exact period remains unclear - for Spotify to build out and scale up an entirely new business using The Joe Rogan Experience as its foundational piece, while everyone else is left still trying figure out their own strategies. ![]() By securing the exclusive rights to what’s widely believed to be the most popular podcast in the world, Spotify essentially bought itself a highway into its glorious new future. That vision outlined an effort to move away from its mortal dependency on the stifling world of music streaming by refashioning itself as something more expansive: a one-stop shop for all kinds of audio products, starting with podcasts. The deal, later reported to be worth $100 million, offered a road map for how Spotify was going to achieve what CEO Daniel Ek had declared was to be its “audio-first” future after buying podcast start-ups Gimlet Media and Anchor in early 2019. When Spotify struck its exclusive licensing deal with The Joe Rogan Experience in 2020, the chief executive of a major podcast company texted me shortly after the news went out: “Game, set, match.”Īt that moment, there was no other way to look at it. ![]() On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about Rogan’s Spotify square-off, the leverage wielded by musicians and the unwieldy nature of the podcasting business.Photo: Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images And it also exacerbated issues it has with musicians and songwriters who believe it systematically underpays them. But the incident raised thorny questions about Spotify’s role in vetting the content it distributes, especially from partners it is in exclusive business with. Rogan apologized, and he worked with Spotify to remove approximately 70 episodes of his show from the streaming service, with which he has an exclusive partnership. Rogan’s show, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” has been criticized for promoting Covid-19 misinformation - Neil Young and Joni Mitchell had their music removed from the service in protest - and a compilation of video clips of Rogan using a racial slur on past episodes resurfaced online, drawing more ire. Over the last few weeks, Spotify has found itself in the cross hairs of critics because of its relationship with the comedian turned podcaster Joe Rogan. Subscribe to Popcast! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher ![]()
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