The streaming service Spotify is under fire for the way it has handled the spread of COVID-19 misinformation. Joe Rogan, creator of the Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast which gathers over 11 million listeners per episode, finds himself at the center of this controversy. Joe Rogan was accused of spreading false information in regards to the effectiveness and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. Spotify’s lack of action led several musicians to start a movement to boycott the platform until action was taken against him. Artists like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have pulled their music catalogs off the streaming service. The controversy has also resulted in a mass social media movement to encourage users to delete their Spotify accounts. The protest has opened a deeper conversation about the other ways in which the platform is falling short.
Spotify landing itself in the middle of this controversy has allowed artists to vent their frustrations with the streaming platform. Musician Neil Young expressed his frustrations with Spotify urging other artists to remove themselves from the streaming platform. The argument centers around how the platform only cares about money and not the worth of an individual artist’s work. In the past, Spotify has been accused of underpaying musicians, failing to match their competitors Apple, Amazon Music and Tidal in the way in which they compensate musicians. Spotify has been reported to only give back around 5% of the money generated to the recording artist, leaving around 75% for rights holders and the rest for the platform. If a musician generated a million streams on a song, they’re only paid a few thousand dollars.
Musicians have a right to be frustrated with Spotify, especially when looking at how much money the platform pours into podcasts. For example, Spotify made an exclusive deal with Joe Rogan to acquire the rights to his podcast for $100 million. The streaming platform has reportedly made podcast deals with celebrities like Prince Harry and wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex all the way to former president Barack Obama. Deals which all help the streaming platform become less reliant on music rights holders, and give musicians an even harder time
Spotify’s recent actions have put the platform in a new light for many users. Recently, a sound bit of Joe Rogan saying a racial slur on his podcast made its rounds around the internet. Joe Rogan apologized insisting that the soundbite was taken out of context and Spotify responded by deleting over 70 episodes of his podcast off the platform. This action comes right after the platform promised to put warning labels about COVID-19 misinformation on episodes on the Joe Rogan Experience.
Nonetheless, Spotify still continues to stand by Joe Rogan and puts far more money and time into podcasts than the musicians who need the platform to share their art or make a living. Choosing not to back down from their decision to continue to offer him a platform, Spotify has clearly drawn a line in the sand. It’s up to users to decide if they want to continue to support the company. Especially when it comes to musicians, these recents events might push more artists to remove their work completely off Spotify. The platform’s recent pivots towards the podcast industry, might make these protests insignificant in bringing any real critical change.
