I guessed this one the wrong way. I thought after Joe Rogan was “outed” as a rampant user of the n-word and a racist douchebag, that now Spotify would have to do something! Something other than issuing word salads and not much else. Spotify did remove more than one hundred of Rogan’s podcasts from their platform, so Rogan is being minorly “deplatformed” for his racism, but again, he still has his show and he still has his $100 million contract. Now Spotify CEO Daniel Ek issued a company-wide memo apologizing for the Rogan mess. Ek also basically says that they’re sticking with Rogan because they’re afraid they’ll be accused of “cancel culture.” Here’s part of Ek’s memo:
There are no words I can say to adequately convey how deeply sorry I am for the way The Joe Rogan Experience controversy continues to impact each of you. Not only are some of Joe Rogan’s comments incredibly hurtful – I want to make clear that they do not represent the values of this company. I know this situation leaves many of you feeling drained, frustrated and unheard.
I think it’s important you’re aware that we’ve had conversations with Joe and his team about some of the content in his show, including his history of using some racially insensitive language. Following these discussions and his own reflections, he chose to remove a number of episodes from Spotify. He also issued his own apology over the weekend.
While I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more. And I want to make one point very clear – I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer. We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope. Looking at the issue more broadly, it’s critical thinking and open debate that powers real and necessary progress.
Another criticism that I continue to hear from many of you is that it’s not just about The Joe Rogan Experience on Spotify; it comes down to our direct relationship with him. In last week’s Town Hall, I outlined to you that we are not the publisher of JRE. But perception due to our exclusive license implies otherwise. So I’ve been wrestling with how this perception squares with our values.
The last part is interesting and you can go to Deadline to see Ek’s full statement. Despite his wordplay, Spotify does OWN Joe Rogan. They might not technically own The Joe Rogan Experience, but as Ek says, they have the exclusive license and they’re paying Rogan $100 million to be the exclusive platform for his show. The technical law of it is not what matters here, although I’m sure Rogan would sue Spotify if they ever did fire him/deplatform him. From Spotify’s perspective, it’s not just a matter of “perception” – if they deplatform him, Rogan would likely sue. But even worse than that (for Spotify) is that Rogan would take his show somewhere else, and his audience of millions of idiot bros would follow.
As for this: “canceling voices is a slippery slope”… my dude, no one has an intrinsic right to spread Covid misinformation, or be a racist pig or say the n-word. If you argue that everyone has the fundamental right to say racist things or say lies about Covid, I would agree with you. That is your right. But you are not free from consequences. The consequence of Rogan’s history of Covid misinformation, bigotry and racism absolutely needs to be “removal from Spotify.”
Photos courtesy of Getty.
