Spotify CEO Defends Decision To Pick Joe Rogan's Side In COVID Misinformation Issue

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has explained why his company took Joe Rogan's side in the latter's recent row with veteran musician Neil Young.

Ek told employees in a controversial company town hall that the decision was due to how crucial Rogan was to Spotify's "ambitions," reports BusinessInsider. Essentially, the company was protecting their investment in the controversial podcaster because he allowed the streaming platform to "find leverage" over their biggest competitors.

In simpler words, it was all about business.

For the unaware, Spotify paid Rogan $100 million for exclusivity rights to his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE). This was a deal that both parties signed in 2020.

According to Ek, they're not keen on changing their content policies based on one creator alone or based on "any media cycle or call from anyone else," as reported by NBC News.

Furthermore, the Spotify CEO clarified that Rogan still has to abide by their policies and rules, even if he is the number one podcaster on the platform as of the moment.

The JRE podcast averages a massive 11 million listeners per episode, which is part of why Young criticized Rogan's tendency to peddle scientific and COVID misinformation on his show. According to the veteran rocker, this kind of reach puts so many people's lives at risk, especially those of more "impressionable" ones like young people.

The explanation was taken from a 15-minute video recording of Ek's speech during the town hall, which was obtained by The Verge. Before the speech, employees were apparently waiting for the discussion with a hint of skepticism, as the aforementioned workers have been "venting" about why they chose Rogan over Young.

The move was considered a distasteful one by the employees since it kind of caused a domino effect. It wasn't just Young who decided to pull his music off the platform, but also his contemporary Joni Mitchell, who did it in support of his fight against the alleged rampant COVID misinformation on the platform.

Spotify Feeling The Heat

In their decision to side with Rogan, Spotify has been feeling the heat of the backlash.

Amidst the Joe Rogan and Neil Young controversy, the company's stock tanked by a significant margin when investors "shied away", as reported by 9 News Australia. Company stock prices fell to as low as $149.95 per stock from a high of $191.84.

Not only that, but Young pulling his music off the platform also fed some trolling efforts from Spotify's biggest competitors. Among these included Apple Music, who sent out this tweet shortly after the issue went public:

This isn't even the only thing they did, as Apple Music also used their Push Notifications to take advantage of the situation:

If you're a massive Neil Young fan, then you're going to have to get your fix of his music elsewhere. Fortunately, there are a lot of other alternatives to Spotify that you can choose from.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce