Spotify is losing billions of dollars in valuation over the ensuing Joe Rogan controversy. Reports suggest that the music streaming platform has lost anywhere between $2 and $4 billion dollars after Neil Young pulled his music off the platform.
But it isn’t just Young, several other artists have also criticized the misinformation being spread on the Joe Rogan Experience, which is a Spotify exclusive podcast. While Barry Manilow has spoken out against the misinformation, his music remains on the streaming service.
However, another Canadian singer Joni Mitchell has also stood in solidarity with Neil Young and taken her music off the platform as well.
Mitchell said, “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
Also Read: Spotify removes Neil Young's music after rocker's ultimatum over vaccine disinformation
Young's move followed the publication in December of an open letter from 270 doctors, physicians, and professors to Spotify, asking the service to "moderate misinformation on its platform."
Variety reported that Spotify shares dropped 6 percent from January 26 to 28 after Young pulled his music from the platform. The streaming service had already seen its stock prices drop since the start of 2022, reporting a 25 percent decrease in share value as of January 25.
Spotify cited that it had already removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. However, Rogan’s popular podcast has remained vastly unaffected since Spotify paid over $100 million in exchange for the exclusive rights to the Joe Rogan podcast.
Rogan’s podcast has lately become a bastion for vaccine misinformation. The podcaster who is often critical of mainstream media outlets for holding biased views on important issues has now found himself locked in his own anti-vaccine echo chamber.
While Rogan has had several guests on to discuss the benefits of taking the vaccine, they are often met with pushback from Rogan who presents vague data and misleading information to counter valid points. On the other hand, Rogan is rarely seen pushing back against vaccine skeptics and anti-vaxxers, who question the efficacy of the vaccines.
It is worth noting that Neil Young has cited that he is a strong believer in free speech and was simply exercising his right to be absent from a platform that pushes COVID misinformation. However, removing Rogan’s podcast from Spotify won’t make much of a difference to his viewership and will only serve to make him the biggest podcaster on another platform.
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