Spotify CEO Daniel Ek recently spoke out about the backlash against their biggest podcast ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’. Ek explained further on why the audio streaming platform has no responsibility to silence Joe Rogan.
Months ago the infamous podcaster and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan found himself in the midst of a media storm. After JRE featured several scientists who questioned the mainstream claims about Covid 19, a video compilation of Joe Rogan saying the n-word re-emerged
“Spotify doesn’t approve Rogan’s guest list. They don’t look at his content until it goes up, and so they don’t have editing power. They just look at it after it’s already on the platform and remove it if it doesn’t meet guidelines.” Ek said according to one of the employees.
In May 2020, Spotify reportedly paid Joe Rogan over $200 million to exclusively host the podcast on their platform for the next several years. Many believe that Spotify tried to defend Joe Rogan as he is one of their biggest incomes. However, Ek confirmed that what they did was simply following the company’s guidelines. Recently, Daniel Ek attended a meeting with the LA Times and explained why the platform can’t control the podcaster.
“From his earliest days behind the mic, Joe has been a commentator, fixture, and driving force in culture helping to lay the foundation for the podcasting renaissance we are experiencing today. While Spotify will become the exclusive distributor of JRE, Rogan will maintain full creative control over the show.” Ek said.
Joe Rogan has owned his podcast since the very beginning – it’s not owned by Spotify, Spotify simply has the right to exclusively distribute it. Spotify shares took a beating in light of the controversy – and some even go so far as to say that the controversy was manufactured to tank the price of Spotify and help Amazon music regain a share of the market.