Spotify CEO Addresses Joe Rogan’s N-Word Use, Doubles Down on Keeping Podcaster on Platform

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has addressed the weeks-long blowback against his company, and for the “deeply hurtful” remarks that have surfaced from Joe Rogan, whose podcast triggered the latest round of controversy.

In a letter sent to Spotify employees, seen by Billboard, Ek says he “strongly” condemns Rogan’s prior use of “racially insensitive language,” which, he continues, does “not represent the values of the company.”

The Swedish executive has spoken with Rogan and his team about of the content in the show, and, according to Ek, the message got through. The show will go on.

Rogan and his under-fire podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, has been the heavily criticized in recent weeks for the raconteur’s decision to welcome conspiracy theorists onto his platform, something he has since vowed to better balance going forward.

The damage was done, according to Neil Young, who pulled his music from the streaming platform in protest, citing Spotify’s failure to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform with respect to comments made on the Joe Rogan Experience.

A string of artists joined the boycott, including fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell, and Bruce Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren.

As the war-of-words rumbled on, R&B artist India.Arie shared resurfaced footage to social media in which Rogan repeatedly used the n-word and described being in the presence of Black people as comparable to “Planet of the Apes.”

In a nearly six-minute video, Rogan admitted the compilation of unearthed clips was “the most regretful and shameful thing that I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.”

By Friday, around 70 episodes of the Joe Rogan Experience were removed from Spotify, according to the website JRE Missing, which tracks podcast episodes that are missing from the streaming platform. Late Sunday, that figure was as high as 113. Rogan made the decision to remove some of those past episodes, explains Ek in his letter to staff, though it’s unclear whether he yanked all of them.

Axing Rogan’s popular podcast, however, isn’t in the cards. “I realize some of you want more,” Ek writes. “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 cross, but canceling voices is a slippery slope.”

Ek also says he would commit to an “incremental investment of $100 million for the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalized groups” to boost “all types of creators,” including those from “historically marginalized groups.”

Spotify exclusively licenses the Joe Rogan Experience in a multi-year deal said to be in the ballpark of $100 million.

“We have a clear opportunity to learn and grow together from this challenge and I am ready to meet it head on,” Ek concludes.

Read the full letter below.

Spotify Team,

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.

If we believe in having an open platform as a core value of the company, then we must also believe in elevating all types of creators, including those from underrepresented communities and a diversity of backgrounds. We’ve been doing a great deal of work in this area already but I think we can do even more. So I am committing to an incremental investment of $100 million for the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalized groups. This will dramatically increase our efforts in these areas. While some might want us to pursue a different path, I believe that more speech on more issues can be highly effective in improving the status quo and enhancing the conversation altogether.

I deeply regret that you are carrying so much of this burden. I also want to be transparent in setting the expectation that in order to achieve our goal of becoming the global audio platform, these kinds of disputes will be inevitable. For me, I come back to centering on our mission of unlocking the potential of human creativity and enabling more than a billion people to enjoy the work of what we think will be more than 50 million creators. That mission makes these clashes worth the effort.

I’ve told you several times over the last week, but I think it’s critical we listen carefully to one another and consider how we can and should do better. I’ve spent this time having lots of conversations with people inside and outside of Spotify – some have been supportive while others have been incredibly hard, but all of them have made me think.

One of the things I am thinking about is what additional steps we can take to further balance creator expression with user safety. I’ve asked our teams to expand the number of outside experts we consult with on these efforts and look forward to sharing more details.

Your passion for this company and our mission has made a difference in the lives of so many listeners and creators around the world. I hope you won’t lose sight of that. It’s that ability to focus and improve Spotify even on some of our toughest days that has helped us build the platform we have. We have a clear opportunity to learn and grow together from this challenge and I am ready to meet it head on.

I know it is difficult to have these conversations play out so publicly, and I continue to encourage you to reach out to your leaders, your HR partners or me directly if you need support or resources for yourself or your team.

Daniel

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