"how did Joe Rogan land Spotify in hot water?"--MAya MAstropasqua, 7th grade
Spotify needed to grow outside the music mold, and the obvious way to do that was podcasts. “Developing a portfolio of podcasts unique to Spotify, as Netflix had built a walled garden for video, was a key aim,” the New York Times article “Spotify Bet Big On Joe Rogan. It Got More Than It Counted On” reported. This proved to be a smart move for Spotify. In fact, the New York Times article stated that in the company’s financial reports, podcasts, namely Joe Rogan's podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” were “a factor in the long-sought growth of its advertising business.”
“The Joe Rogan Experience” launched Spotify into the podcast giant that it is. It has grown to accommodate a huge group of followers and is Spotify's “biggest podcast, not only in the United States but in 92 other markets.” Just in the week it was announced that Spotify would be hosting the podcast, “stock price jumped 17 percent.” Spotify knew the effect and buzz the podcast would bring for them, reportedly agreeing to host Rogan’s show exclusively, covering three and half years, with a deal of $200 million.
However recently, Rogan’s podcast has been under fire for its false claims around Covid-19 and its vaccines. “Timeline of a Crisis: Spotify, Neil Young and Joe Rogan” talked about the beginning of Rogan’s descent, which included sharing interviews and work from Dr. Robert Malone, a virologist and one of the creators of mRNA technology (mRNA vaccines). Malone had made “baseless claims about COVID-19, adding to the further spread of coronavirus misinformation. Less than two weeks after the interview, 270 scientists, professors, doctors and healthcare workers wrote an open letter to Spotify, specifically citing the Robert Malone episode. “By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions,” they said, “Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals.”
Following this, singer-songwriter Neil Young posted a since deleted letter on his website to his management and record label saying he wanted his music removed from Spotify due to the misinformation Rogan is spreading. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” he wrote. Two days later Spotify responded by saying they would remove Young’s music.
Following in Young's footsteps, singer Joni Mitchell wrote on her website, “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify,” saying she stands in “solidarity with Neil Young” and will join him in his protest against Rogan and the company.
“The Joe Rogan Experience” launched Spotify into the podcast giant that it is. It has grown to accommodate a huge group of followers and is Spotify's “biggest podcast, not only in the United States but in 92 other markets.” Just in the week it was announced that Spotify would be hosting the podcast, “stock price jumped 17 percent.” Spotify knew the effect and buzz the podcast would bring for them, reportedly agreeing to host Rogan’s show exclusively, covering three and half years, with a deal of $200 million.
However recently, Rogan’s podcast has been under fire for its false claims around Covid-19 and its vaccines. “Timeline of a Crisis: Spotify, Neil Young and Joe Rogan” talked about the beginning of Rogan’s descent, which included sharing interviews and work from Dr. Robert Malone, a virologist and one of the creators of mRNA technology (mRNA vaccines). Malone had made “baseless claims about COVID-19, adding to the further spread of coronavirus misinformation. Less than two weeks after the interview, 270 scientists, professors, doctors and healthcare workers wrote an open letter to Spotify, specifically citing the Robert Malone episode. “By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions,” they said, “Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals.”
Following this, singer-songwriter Neil Young posted a since deleted letter on his website to his management and record label saying he wanted his music removed from Spotify due to the misinformation Rogan is spreading. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” he wrote. Two days later Spotify responded by saying they would remove Young’s music.
Following in Young's footsteps, singer Joni Mitchell wrote on her website, “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify,” saying she stands in “solidarity with Neil Young” and will join him in his protest against Rogan and the company.
Shortly after guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, Nils Lofgren, removed work from Spotify, and author and researcher Brené Brown stalled her podcasts.
On January 30, 2022 Spotify uploaded Spotify’s Platform Rules and Approach to COVID-19, sharing 3 main steps they’re planning to take. The first is a published set of long-term rules explaining what isn’t allowed including, “Content that promotes dangerous false or dangerous deceptive medical information that may cause offline harm or poses a direct threat to public health.”
The second was adding a content advisory warning to podcast episodes regarding COVID-19. And they will try testing ways to highlight they’re platform rules. Rogan also posted a video on instagram, apologizing and promising to balance things out with different opinions.
R&B singer India Arie announced her departure from Spotify in an instagram post, “For me it’s also his language around race,” she wrote in the post. One instance that has resurfaced is when Rogan said “the term black is weird” on a podcast episode. “This shows what type of a company they are and the company that they keep,” wrote Arie.
Earlier this month, Arie also "posted a video compilation of the podcast host using the racial slur about 20 times,” according to the article “India Arie says Spotify exploits artists and Joe Rogan is ‘consciously racist’” published by the LA times. Rogan did apologize, claiming that "his position on using the N-word has changed.” Arie went on the Daily Show and spoke to Trevor Noah about it, saying, "What I really think is that he was being consciously racist."
So far, it doesn’t seem that Spotify or Rogan have experienced huge consequences because of this controversy. As time goes on, we’ll see what happens.
The second was adding a content advisory warning to podcast episodes regarding COVID-19. And they will try testing ways to highlight they’re platform rules. Rogan also posted a video on instagram, apologizing and promising to balance things out with different opinions.
R&B singer India Arie announced her departure from Spotify in an instagram post, “For me it’s also his language around race,” she wrote in the post. One instance that has resurfaced is when Rogan said “the term black is weird” on a podcast episode. “This shows what type of a company they are and the company that they keep,” wrote Arie.
Earlier this month, Arie also "posted a video compilation of the podcast host using the racial slur about 20 times,” according to the article “India Arie says Spotify exploits artists and Joe Rogan is ‘consciously racist’” published by the LA times. Rogan did apologize, claiming that "his position on using the N-word has changed.” Arie went on the Daily Show and spoke to Trevor Noah about it, saying, "What I really think is that he was being consciously racist."
So far, it doesn’t seem that Spotify or Rogan have experienced huge consequences because of this controversy. As time goes on, we’ll see what happens.
