![]() ![]() "What we know is that it's not going to have a strong effect in terms of changing people's minds," Ellen Goodman, a professor at Rutgers Law School whose research focuses on information policy law, free speech and media policy, told ABC News of adding fact-checking labels to misinformation. Spotify made headlines back in 2020 for reportedly licensing a $100 million deal to exclusively host Rogan's often controversial namesake podcast.įollowing immense backlash that included artist Neil Young yanking his music from the platform and a petition demanding action from Spotify signed by hundreds of doctors, scientists and public health professionals, Spotify responded late Sunday by saying it will add a "content advisory" label to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19 and directs listeners to its "COVID-19 Hub" for up-to-date information on the virus as shared by public health authorities. The saga stems from episodes of "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, which critics said peddled dangerous misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines to his millions of listeners. ![]() Spotify has built its entire podcasting strategy around Rogan, and he has become so important to the company’s growth that even when high profile stars like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell threaten to pull their music from the streaming service, the decision to back Rogan was a no-brainer.After managing to avoid the same level of scrutiny as fellow tech giants such as Twitter and Facebook for years, streaming service Spotify has now found itself at the center of a scandal involving the platform it gives to those disseminating misinformation about COVID-19. So whether you want to call Spotify his employer, distributor, or publisher, the upshot is the same: Spotify is in charge of the Joe Rogan Experience and its decision to allow the podcast to stay on the platform is the company’s alone.Īnd there are compelling reasons for Ek to want to jump through hoops to justify keeping his biggest podcast star.īuying an ad on Rogan’s show costs a minimum of $1 million, and The Verge reported last month that when marketers buy ads on Rogan, Spotify requires them to buy ads on the rest of the company’s catalog as well. Rogan is not just some musician or creator uploading his show to Spotify, he is being paid-handsomely-by the platform that exclusively hosts his content. “We are not the publisher of the Joe Rogan Experience,” Ek wrote, repeating a point he made at a town hall meeting with staff last week.īut a quick look at the facts shows that this may be just a semantic distinction, because ultimately it’s Spotify that is responsible for this $100 million podcast behemoth.īack in May 2020, Rogan signed an exclusive deal with Spotify reportedly worth $100 million, which would mean “The Joe Rogan Experience” and all of its back catalog would be available only on Spotify.Īs Ryan Broderick points out in his Garbage Day newsletter, this is not like the content moderation issues that have beset Facebook and Twitter. Just like his claim that Rogan’s words don’t represent the company’s values is questionable, Ek’s reasoning for not de-platforming Rogan is equally based on flawed logic. Spotify said Rogan’s promotion of anti-vaccine conspiracies didn’t breach its public content rules, and it appears as if his use of the N-word similarly did not break specific Spotify rules.Īnd yet, Ek announced that 70 episodes were being removed from the platform and that the company was going to spend $100 million on promoting music and other audio content by creators from “historically marginalized groups.” And on Sunday night, he reiterated that stance, writing, “I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer.” ![]() Even after Neil Young and Joni Mitchell ditched the platform because of Rogan’s promotion of COVID-19 conspiracies, Ek dismissed calls for the company to de-platform the podcast star.
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