Spotify dished out $100 million on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, knowing how problematic the man is. The streaming media giant faces major backlash over the COVID-19 misinformation the 55-year-old commentator made on his show. joe rogan misinformation explained.
Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, began in 2003. Spotify acquired the exclusive rights in 2020. In an episode, Rogan commented on the COVID-19 vaccine saying young people did not need it. internal spotify joe.
US Presidential Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci criticised the comment. Fauci stated the statement was tone-deaf, given many young people got affected by the COVID-19 virus. Rogan responded to the backlash by saying that there is “some legitimate science” in Fauci’s statement. spotify john spoken giantssteele wall streetjournal.
Prolific American singer-songwriter, Neil Young, left the platform in protest. The veteran singer cites the abuse of information and his distaste for how Spotify handled the situation. It has given Spotify a rude wake-up call. Spotify has 406 million monthly listeners, which is 46% up from last year. They have a 40% advertising revenue. spotifys ongoing joe.
Spotify has since removed over 20,000 COVID-19-related podcast episodes. But Rogan’s vaccine episodes remain undeleted. Spotify’s competitor, Sirius XM Holdings, revived the streaming channel for Young.
Spotify has been in hot water for quite a while. Joni Mitchell also responded to Young’s actions by removing her music catalogue. Neo-soul singer India Arie removed her music after Rogan’s insensitive racial rant. In 2018 the platform got forced to remove the music of R. Kelly and XXXTentacion following their abuse allegations.
The company has a serious “Hate Content and Hateful Conduct” policy that punishes artists for alleged bad and illegal behaviour. Spotify has maintained that they do not regulate the content of the artist. They simply distribute the content.