That Spotify stood by Rogan comes to absolutely nobody’s surprise. All this generated what is inarguably the most negative round of headlines in Spotify’s history, and sparked enough concern over subscription cancellations that it was brought up in the most recent earnings call. 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. Photo: Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Sources spotify joe rogan