Friendly fire against Spotify . All the fault of “The Joe Rogan Experience”, which has long been at the top of the podcast most followed on the platform but has become a magnet for criticism and controversy for its openly no-vax positions and with the accuses of conveying false information on Covid-19. A boomerang that cost the Swedish streaming giant about 2.1 billion dollars due to the contraction of the company's stock recorded in the period between 26 and 28 January, the “hottest” days after the explosive controversy triggered. by songwriter and guitarist Neil Young . Several authors have decided to turn their backs on Spotify and even Apple wanted to tread the hand against the historic rival, gloating with implicit messages and references.
To ignite the fuse is the aut or of Neil Young . The author had written an open letter – published on his website and then deleted – in which he stated that « Spotify is spreading false information on vaccines. It has become a very harmful force due to public misinformation and its Covid lies. Lies sold for money. ” In the letter, forwarded to his agent Frank Gironda and his record company, Young had asked to have all his records removed from the streaming platform. “ Either Rogan or Young , not both”, thundered the Canadian singer, accusing Spotify of promoting disinformation on Covid-19 through podcasts such as “The Joe Rogan Experience “. ” very controversial “for having” repeatedly promoted and disseminated unfounded conspiracy theories, provoking mistrust in science and medicine “. According to professionals, these actions are not only questionable and offensive, but also medically and culturally dangerous.
The response from Spotify was not long in coming. On Wednesday 26 January, the Swedish streaming giant decided to accept Young's request , removing all the singer's records from the platform. A decision that is completely meaningless for the 76-year-old musician's finances, considering that the platform represents 60% of his income generated by streaming, as admitted by the author himself in a post published on his official website, thanking his record label for supporting him in the decision. “It was worth it for our integrity and our beliefs.” Subsequently, Young criticized Spotify for not offering lossless audio on its platform, contrary to what happens on Amazon Music and Apple Music . And the US giant will act as a third wheel in the tug-of-war between the two contenders.
For its part, a spokesperson for Spotify explained to the Wall Street Journal that the platform has taken steps to remove over 20,000 podcast episodes linked to Covid since the beginning of the pandemic, saying it regrets the decision to Neil Young but hoping to be able to welcome the artist back soon.
Neil Young's move generated a domino effect, dragging authors and prominent personalities into the wind of controversy. Several authors have decided to marry the 76-year-old musician's battle, removing their music wallet from Spotify : this is the case of singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell , who joined to Young in the accusations against the Swedish platform. Via a post on his official website, Mitchell wrote that “Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people's lives”, showing “sympathy with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities. on this issue “. More recently, guitarist Nils Lofgren , a member of Bruce Springsteen and Crazy Horse's iconic E-Street Band, also announced the retirement of “27 Years of Music” from Spotify , in controversy for the podcasts of the no-vax Joe Rogan
Words of encouragement to the battle waged by Neil Young also come from the British singer Kate Nash , while Bené Brown has instead suspended the publication and his exclusive podcasts for Spotify “until further notice” and even the former royal couple Harry and Meghan have expressed “concerns” about the approach of the streaming service. But unlike the others, they have stated that they want to continue working with the company for their podcast “Archewell Audio”, another exclusive of Spotify .
In 2020, Spotify made the podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” a platform exclusive, against the conclusion of a contract worth 100 million dollars . The contents have conquered the ranking of the most followed podcasts, have an average audience of 11 million users and 200 million monthly downloads. Joe Rogan, a 54-year-old TV presenter and stand-up comedian, has been skeptical of the danger of Covid-19, discouraging vaccination in young people and children and promoting the use of invermectin (an anti-parasite drug) to treat the disease himself. used to heal after contracting the virus but with unfounded efficacy. In December, her podcast featured Robert Malone, a no-vax virologist who compared the current health situation and virus containment measures to Nazi Germany's regime and considers precautionary measures a form of mass psychosis.
Who has benefited from the wasp of controversy that has involved Spotify is certainly Apple Music . The rival platform has indeed trolled the Swedish rival by promoting Neil Young albums and playlists. An entire We Love Neil section dedicated to the 76-year-old artist's greatest hits appeared on the home of Apple Music and in a message on Twitter, he remarked that the Cupertino platform is «the home of Neil Young “.
The media sensation has forced Spotify to run for cover. The music streaming platform has in fact announced new initiatives to contain disinformation on the coronavirus and strengthen its commitment to combat content that could be dangerous or misleading for users. Spotify also wanted to give a signal by making public the guidelines already in force for some time and regulating the creation of content relating to topics such as those relating to pandemic. Such policies prohibit denying the dangers of Covid-19 and other serious diseases, as well as banning content that encourages people to be infected on purpose to build immunity. In case of conflict with internal policies, the content will be removed from the platform and repeat offenders will be suspended or blocked forever by Spotify . The platform also made it known that it will insert warnings in all those podcast episodes in which Covid-19 is mentioned: this is a link to a section that contains a selection of reliable sources and updated to combat disinformation on the subject. CEO Daniel Ek also said that Spotify “has a duty to do more”.
As for the specific case, The Verge wrote that it had received an internal document stating that the Joe Rogan podcast «has not yet the threshold for removal has been reached '. The same Rogan used Instagram to publish a video in response to the controversy, denying the accusations of spreading false information but confirming that he had something wrong. He then explained that his guests are «very intelligent, experienced and qualified people and have a different opinion from that tradition. I don't know if they're right, I'm not a doctor. However, I will do my best to balance the various points of view “.
