![]() ![]() There was an ugly and public war with Taylor Swift in 2014 over its royalty rates. ![]() Spotify has a history of making bad decisions. This was the moment Spotify became more Wall Street, and less Stortorget. We can date the shift to April 2018, when the company launched its direct listing on the New York stock exchange – and Manhattan, rather than Stockholm, became the company’s geographical and cultural epicentre. Rogan draws in listeners – with an estimated 11 million for each episode – and he holds them there. Such frequency of output reinforces consumer loyalty – and so subscribers – far better than any single artist can, which may be why Spotify is so hesitant to let Rogan go, or even just to curb some of his more extreme opinions. Part of the appeal of podcasts for Spotify is that they represent a different type of listening: rather than an album every two or three years from a favourite artist, there is new content every week, at least. No longer just a music streaming service, Spotify now regards itself as an audio platform and podcasting as its new centre of gravity. Rogangate says a tremendous amount about Spotify’s new priorities. Is he happy for Spotify to amplify medical misinformation through, among others, its crown-jewel podcast, a show it paid a rumoured $100m (£75m) to have on an exclusive basis? Or will he have the company tightly police and factcheck what its podcasters say? The rapidly curdling, and inherently Faustian nature of the Rogan deal should not surprise anyone. What is unfolding is a complex ethical and financial conundrum for Daniel Ek, Spotify’s co-founder and CEO. This is a company where diversity is applauded, paternity leave is encouraged, the mental wellbeing of staff is deemed paramount and efforts to promote artists from outside of a heterosexual and Caucasian orthodoxy have become part of the raison d’etre – such as the Unlike Any Other initiative around Pride 2020 and the Frequency campaign in 2021, which was intended to help elevate Black artists. These recent moves feel like a grand betrayal of Spotify’s roots in liberal Sweden, where it was founded. In the past, fights tended to be around commercial issues, with artists arguing the micro-payments it made for streams were unfairly low this new conflict is remarkable for being entirely ideological. The decision from Spotify draws an entirely new battle line for the service when facing down artists. ![]() Young had the courage of his convictions – and the backing of his long-term label Reprise Records (part of Warner Music Group), because, as he said in a statement on his website, removing his music would mean “losing 60% of my worldwide streaming income in the name of Truth”. This claim was supported in a letter sent to the streaming service earlier this month, signed by 270 medical and scientific professionals who called for Spotify to stop spreading Rogan’s unfounded point of view. Young’s objections were based on what he saw as “life-threatening Covid misinformation” being pushed by Rogan. Spotify chose Rogan, removing Young’s entire back catalogue. ![]() The Canadian-American musician criticised its exclusive hosting of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in a letter to his manager and record label published online, which asked his music be removed from the streaming service. N eil Young this week issued Spotify with a blunt ultimatum: it’s me or Joe Rogan. ![]()
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