Spotify has been in the news a lot lately, but it hasn’t been for the best of reasons. Last week, singer-songwriter Neil Young removed his music from the platform after it refused to cancel the podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. Hosted by Joe Rogan, the show has come under fire recently for promoting COVID-19 misinformation. Folk icon Joni Mitchell also pulled her music from Spotify over the weekend for the same reasons.
Spotify, however, isn’t budging. In a blog post on Sunday, CEO Daniel Ek wrote that the platform has not “been transparent around the policies that guide our content more broadly.” He then went on to say that this issue will be addressed by adding content advisories on any podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19. This advisory will also direct listeners to a COVID-19 Guide that will contain accurate information on the disease and its vaccines from sources like the BBC, ABC and CNN and interviews with medical professionals.
Some have speculated as to what it would take to get Spotify to remove Rogan’s podcast, which is exclusive to the platform. Neil Young’s move was a powerful statement, but he was nowhere near the most-listened-to artists on the platform. It would likely take an ultimatum from someone like The Weeknd, Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny, who were among its five top played artists in 2021, to force Spotify’s hand. But even then, it might not be enough.
