‘There are many things that Joe Rogan says that I strongly disagree with and find very offensive,’ Chief Executive Daniel Ek said at a company town hall on Wednesday.
But ‘if we want even a shot at achieving our bold ambitions, it will mean having content on Spotify that many of us may not be proud to be associated with.’
‘Not anything goes, but there will be opinions, ideas, and beliefs that we disagree with strongly and even makes us angry or sad,’ he added.
‘I want to remind everyone of our mission. We want to get to 50 million creators and a billion users. And to be a true platform and achieve this ambition, it’s really critical that creators are able to use their voice independently. And it’s also critical that we have diverse voices on our platform,’ he said at the town hall.
‘We’re not in the business of dictating the discourse that these creators want to have on their shows.’
‘Even though JRE is an exclusive, it is licensed content. It is important to note that we do not have creative control over Joe Rogan’s content.
‘We don’t approve his guests in advance, and just like any other creator, we get his content when he publishes, and then we review it, and if it violates our policies, we take the appropriate enforcement actions.’
We’re defining an entirely new space of tech and media. We’re a very different kind of company, and the rules of the road are being written as we innovate,’ he said.
‘I understand the premise that because we have an exclusive deal with him, it’s really easy to conclude we endorse every word he says and believe the opinions expressed by his guests. That’s absolutely not the case.’
Graham Nash and India.Arie are joining a growing list of performers following Neil Young’s lead and ditching Spotify, and to combat the rumors, it’s not the issue of getting $0.0004 per stream. They are pulling their songs over Joe Rogan, a popular podcaster. Critics claim he is spreading information contrary to the mainstream and it’s dangerous.
Joe Rogan recently released a video defending his podcast. He went on to say that he had highly qualified doctors, the most widely published in their field on his show. He argued that his podcasts are merely discussions.
“Having heard the Covid disinformation spread by Joe Rogan on Spotify, I completely agree with and support my friend, Neil Young,” Nash said in a statement posted Tuesday on his Instagram account.
79 year old Joni Mitchell has pulled her songs from Spotify and not because of the low streaming payout, but over podcaster Joe Rogan.
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” the Canadian musician said. “I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
76-year-old Neil Young also wants popular podcaster Joe Rogan banned. He said the consequences were “potentially causing death to those who believe this disinformation spread,” saying, “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
What caused the uproar? Joe Rogan had several doctors on his podcast questioning the efficacy and safety of drugs. Drug manufactures quickly retaliated after criticizing drug safety.
Pearl Jam is set to enter the studio with Andrew Watt who is known for his work with Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus all the way to Ozzy Osbourne. He’s a skillful guitarist and highly in demand. Watt also worked with Vedder on his upcoming solo album ‘Earthlings’.
Watt won Non-Classical Producer Of The Year at the 2021 Grammy Awards.
Vedder said: “We’ll make a record with Andrew, I believe. We’ve already talked about it. You know, the pandemic came right as we were leaving for a tour on the ‘Gigaton’ record. We had a lot of shows planned. Two-thirds of those shows were put on sale, even. So one thing we’ll be doing in 2022 in making good on promises to play those shows.”
Spotify is removing Neil Young from the platform. The streaming company will continue to host Joe Rogan who garners over 11 million listens per episode.
Neil Young has demanded for his songs to be pulled from Spotify because they host Joe Rogan’s Experience, a popular podcast. The folk singer wants Joe Rogan banned.
Young asked his management team and record label to remove his music.
Young wrote, “Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.”
Spotify can have “Joe Rogan or Young. Not both,”
“By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions, 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,” the letter stated.