Spotify CEO Daniel EK tells staff that he stands by Joe Rogan, saying the music streaming platform is “not in the business of dictating the discourse” of its platform’s hosts.
During a 15-minute town hall meeting, EK told Spotify workers that despite some workers being offended by Rogan still being allowed on the platform, he’s here to stay.
“I know some of you feel disappointed, or angry, or even hurt, by some of this content and the fact that it remains on our platform,” said EK.
EK’s words come after Rogan continues to face backlash over the allegedly spewing of COVID-19 misinformation on Spotify. Rogan’s The Joe Rogan Experience content has led to music artists pulling their music from the platform.
“If you want even a shot at achieving our bold ambitions, it will mean having content on Spotify that many of us may not be proud to be associated with,” said to his staff. “Not anything goes, but there will be opinions, ideas, and beliefs that we disagree with strongly and even makes us angry or sad,” EK continued.
He added that it’s “really critical that creators are able to use their voice independently” and that Spotify has “diverse voices,” The New York Post reports. “We’re not in the business of dictating the discourse that these creators want to have on their shows.”
“If we only wanted to make content that we all like and agree with, we will need to eliminate religion, and politics, and comedy, and health, and environment, and education,” said EK.
