https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/30/2290 ... nformationSpotify finally responds to Joe Rogan controversy with a plan to label podcasts that discuss COVID-19
The company is also publishing its content rules for the first time
By Emma Roth Jan 30, 2022, 3:46pm EST
Spotify will now add COVID-19 content advisories to podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19 following criticism of the platform’s handling of the controversial content in the Joe Rogan Experience. The advisory will lead to Spotify’s COVID-19 hub, which contains credible and up-to-date information about the pandemic.
To increase transparency around its treatment of the issue, Spotify is making its COVID-19 content policy and general platform rules publicly available on its site. Spotify says anyone who breaks the rules may have the content in question removed, with repeat offenders potentially having their accounts suspended or banned. The Verge obtained this policy ahead of the platform’s public release, and an internal memo revealed that Joe Rogan’s podcast didn’t “meet the threshold for removal.”
Neil Young says he ‘felt better’ after leaving Spotify and its ‘shitty’ sound quality
According to the policy, Spotify prohibits content that asserts “AIDS, COVID-19, cancer or other serious life threatening diseases are a hoax or not real.” The platform also bans content that encourages people “to purposely get infected with COVID-19 in order to build immunity” and doesn’t allow content that suggests vaccines “are designed to cause death.” However, a line present in the document posted internally is not there in the version available on Spotify’s website, which prohibits “Suggesting that wearing a mask will cause the wearer imminent, life-threatening physical harm.”
“You’ve had a lot of questions over the last few days about our platform policies and the lines we have drawn between what is acceptable and what is not,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says in a blog post. “We have had rules in place for many years but admittedly, we haven’t been transparent around the policies that guide our content more broadly...Based on the feedback over the last several weeks, it’s become clear to me that we have an obligation to do more to provide balance and access to widely-accepted information from the medical and scientific communities guiding us through this unprecedented time.”
Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Nils Lofgren have all had their music removed from the platform in protest of Rogan’s podcast, where he has, among other things, suggested that healthy young people don’t need the COVID-19 vaccine. Popular podcaster Brené Brown also says she will take a break from adding new episodes to her Spotify-exclusive shows, although it’s unclear whether the controversy surrounding Rogan was the cause.
https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/s ... y-1751849/ENTERTAINMENT
Spotify has lost over $2 billion amid Joe Rogan controversy
Published: 30/Jan/2022 11:28 by Sam Comrie
Streaming giants Spotify are finding themselves in deep water amid the ongoing Joe Rogan controversy, as acclaimed musicians pull their entire catalog’s from the platform and the market value drops. Spotify has long served as a home to millions of musicians but has also allowed podcasters to reach a wider audience. The Joe Rogan Experience is one such podcast to benefit and thrive immensely on the platform but is ultimately causing the platform to take a severe financial hit. Now, it has been reported that Spotify is set to lose over $2 billion of revenue as a result of Rogan’s controversial podcast.
According to Variety, Spotify saw their “stock closed Thursday (Jan. 27) at a 19-month low of $171.32/share.” Musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell are atop of the growing list of artists pulling their back catalog from Spotify. Young’s catalog removal, in particular, has played a vital part in Spotify’s value plummeting. Over the course of three days, Spotify lost an estimated $2.1 billion in revenue*. Neil Young penned an open letter to the platform and podcaster Joe Rogan, claiming that “Spotify has recently become a very damaging force via its public misinformation.”
All folks looking for my music can easily head to AMAZON MUSIC and click here https://t.co/xvhKGMkA36 – all new listeners will get four months free. pic.twitter.com/a66GaGUKEk
— Neil Young Archives (@NeilYoungNYA) January 28, 2022
Though the original letter has been deleted, Young proposed an ultimate to Spotify in regards to Rogan: “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform.” “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both” Young said in his conclusion. Since his entire library of music left Spotify, Young has been encouraging fans to make the leap to other streaming platforms such as Amazon Music and Apple Music.
* This writer doesn't understand the difference between revenue and share value but it's still a disaster. And these things have lag, people are just getting to know about this issue. Spotify is fuc*ed. There are so many alternatives. This is right up there with the Only Fans disaster.
How will they try to get out of this?