More Protests, Spotify Boss Defends Joe Rogan And Refuses To Withdraw His Podcast

Joe Rogan, referred to as the number one podacster in the world, today. (photo: instagram @joerogan)

JAKARTA - In the midst of heated protests against its streaming music application, Spotify's CEO, Daniel Ek, seems reluctant to withdraw Joe Rogan's podcast. Instead, he defended the podcaster from the United States.

"We don't change our policies based on one creator, nor do we change them based on media cycles or calls from others," Ek said in a recent company earnings call.

"I believe they are right for our platform. While Joe has a large audience, he is actually the No. 1 podcaster in over 90 markets, he also has to comply with those policies."

Ek's remarks came when musicians and singers such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from the platform for failing to take action against COVID-19 misinformation. Especially on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Rogan, who signed a $100 million deal that gives Spotify exclusive rights to its shows in 2020, is now in the growing limelight for repeatedly sharing and providing a platform for misinformation around the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine.

According to NBC News, Friday, February 4, Spotify will only add content suggestions or guides to every podcast episode that addresses COVID-19.

In addition, Ek also said that Spotify still has work to do. Now the company is trying to achieve a major balancing act, involving creative expression with user safety.

That's why Spotify decided to publish the policy for the first time recently. Ek said it should have been done earlier.

"That's up to me. But we have it out there now so everyone can see this policy and understand what's going on on our platform. Our goal is obviously to have as much content as possible. We'll try and do everything we can to build the best experience possible. for content creators where they can interact and engage with their fans and monetize that relationship," explains Ek.

In response to Spotify's announcement and the ensuing riot, Rogan defended himself in a 10-minute video post on Instagram, vowing to go the extra mile to offer more balance on his show, which is estimated to reach 11 million listeners per episode.

"I'm not trying to promote misinformation. I'm not trying to be controversial. I've never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people and have interesting conversations," said Rogan.