Do you still have no idea about who is Joe Rogan and what exactly is the controversy involving him and Spotify? You should keep reading! Joe Rogan is a reality TV show host and a stand-up comedian. HIs podcast has earned millions of loyalists over the years and has featured some of the most famous celebrities. Kanye West, Miley Cyrus and even Elon Musk have been interviewed by him. The show garners over 10 million listeners every month. In 2020, the online music streaming platform Spotify reportedly acquired ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ for a whopping $100million! But last year Joe Rogan landed up in the midst of a controversy when he interviewed Dr. Robert Malone. Dr. Malone is a virologist however he has been embroiled in many controversies. He has been accused for spreading wrong information about Covid- 19 vaccine. He has supported the anti-vax movement and also said people were being ‘hypnotised’ into wearing masks. He also made allegation against the hospitals for falsely diagnosing Covid-19 patients. He also advocated the use of the drug ‘Ivermectin’ which is an anti-parasitic drug. This drug has no known benefits in treatment of Covid-19. Not only Dr. Robert Malone, Joe Rogan himself also admitted to using Ivermectin to treat himself when was infected with Covid- 19.
How did Joe Rogan wipe off $2 billion off Spotify Market Value?
A group of almost 300 scientists, doctors and other medical professionals demanded that action be taken against Joe Rogan. They signed an open letter to Spotify making the accusations against Joe Rogan. Shortly thereafter, renowned 76 years old musician, Neil Young pulled his music off Spotify. Neil Young had contracted polio before vaccine was available. He made an open statement to Spotify telling them that they can have either him or Joe Rogan. But, not both of them together. Since then, Neil Young has urged his fans to move to other music streaming platforms such as Apple Music. Legendary musician Joni Mitchell also stood in solidarity with Neil Young and also removed her music from Spotify. She said that Spotify is providing a platform to people who were spreading misinformation and costing people their lives. As Neil Young pulled back his music catalog from Spotify, the stock value of Spotify plummeted significantly. On Jan 27 of this year the stock prices of Spotify hit an all time low of $171.32/share. By the end of Jan 31st, Spotify had already lost almost $2 billion in revenue.
What did Joe Rogan had to say in his defence?
In response to the claims that he was spreading misinformation, he said that he was interested in speaking with people who have different opinions on the subject. He said in future he would try to balance out the controversial opinions with those who have a different point of view. He said that he wants to showcase all kinds of opinions of people not only in regard to Covid but also subjects like wellness, health and fitness.
What did Spotify say about the fiasco?
Shortly after the controversy blew up, the Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek said that any podcast which talks about Covid-19 will now have to follow a content advisory. He also talked about rules for content which will make content guiding policies more transparent. He further added that content advisory regarding Covid podcasts will direct the listeners towards a resource hub. This Covid-19 resource hub will have a up-to-date pool of information shared by doctors, scientists, public health authorities from around the world. In addition, Spotify will also establish its platform rules and guidelines. Any content creators violating the guidelines would risk being removed from the platform. The company aims to hold creators accountable for the content they post and also provide them with creator and publisher tools to help them better understand the content policies. Even though, by end of Monday the share price of Spotify had risen by 2%, it still was at its lowest since May 2020.
