Spotify CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek said last week, before the racial slurs resurfaced, that “it is important to me that we don’t take on the position of being content censor.”Įk told The Wall Street Journal last week that he took responsibility for being “too slow to respond” to the criticism over vaccine misinformation. Rogan apologized Saturday, saying that the slurs were the “most regretful and shameful thing” he has ever had to address and that he hasn’t used the N-word in years. “I don’t want to generate money that pays that.” “They take this money that’s built from streaming, and they pay this guy $100 million, but they pay us like. Nils Lofgren, Joni Mitchell join Neil Young in exiting Spotify.
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Spotify, which reportedly paid over $100 million to license Rogan’s podcast, said previously that it would soon add a warning to all podcasts that discuss COVID-19, directing listeners to factual, up-to-date information from scientists and public health experts. The company has yet to publicly address the slurs, but Spotify recently removed dozens of episodes of the podcast.
Grammy-winning artist India.Arie posted it on her Instagram, using the hashtag #DeleteSpotify. The scrutiny only intensified when a video compilation emerged last week showing Rogan repeatedly using racial slurs. Other artists followed suit, including Joni Mitchell and Roxane Gay. 24 when musician Neil Young asked to have his music removed because of concerns that Rogan was promoting skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccines. The company had 31% of the 524 million music streaming subscriptions worldwide in the second quarter of 2021, more than double that of second-place Apple Music, according to Midia Research.
Spotify reports having 406 million active monthly users, up nearly 20% from last year, and advertising has grown largely because of podcasting. Having Rogan on Spotify is like having a political party with Donald Trump as the presidential candidate and liberal Elizabeth Warren as vice president. More: Spotify agrees to remove Neil Young’s music following Joe Rogan vaccine misinformation complaints “They need to settle up with Rogan, let him go to a home that will be consistent with who he is. The conservative Rogan stands in contrast to the much more liberal musicians who generate the bulk of Spotify’s profits, he said. The bottom-line question should be pretty simple for Spotify, said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business and law professor. “This is a big moment of reckoning for entertainment and streaming platforms to see where the window is, what’s over the line.” “There’s some real self-examination to be doing beyond Joe,” Wihbey said. The streaming site also has to decide whether offensive words are allowable elsewhere on its app, where songs with racist, homophobic and anti-immigrant messages are available, said John Wihbey, a Northeastern University professor and specialist in emerging technologies. More: Joe Rogan apologizes for ‘regretful,’ ‘shameful’ use of racial slur after clips circulate Jon Stewart calls Joe Rogan Spotify fracas an ‘overreaction.’ Here’s what stars are saying He has the right to say what he wants,’ that continues on the line where there is this implicit support to say racist things on these platforms,” she said. On race, the choice is between keeping Rogan and sending a message that society has become too “woke” or showing that Spotify is more attuned to a multiracial society, said Adia Harvey Wingfield, a sociology professor at Washington University in St. Whatever decision emerges won’t sit well with one side or the other in an increasingly polarized country. Or is there some middle ground that might be acceptable to artists and subscribers? But experts say Spotify’s management team has to choose whether to sever ties with Rogan as it risks more musicians yanking their work in protest. Neither the streaming service nor Rogan was talking Sunday. Then there’s the business decision about what to do with Rogan’s $100 million podcast, which threatens the bottom line but is also a key part of the company’s strategy to be a one-stop shop for audio. Spotify must decide where it stands on race relations and vaccine misinformation in a society with heightened sensitivity to both issues. Anti-coronavirus vaccine comments and racial slurs on some episodes of his popular podcast are forcing the streaming service to weigh difficult choices. Joe Rogan’s mouth has put Spotify in a tough spot.