Canceling, Slippery Slope & More

After a week that saw the music streaming company’s exclusive podcast host having to defend himself from accusations of COVID-19 misinformation as well as explain his past use of the N-word & racist jokes, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wants everyone to know that “Joe Rogan’s comments incredibly hurtful” and “that they do not represent the values” of Spotify. In fact, you know what? Ek actually used the phrase “strongly condemn” to express just how he was feeling about Joe Rogan‘s comments in a letter he sent to the streamer’s staff (obtained by The Hollywood Reporter and available below) so you know he’s serious, right?

But is Spotify’s “Mr. (Reported) $100 Million Man” going anywhere? Nope.

What he will do is have a meeting with Rogan and his team. Which is what he did, actually. And guess what? Rogan let Spotify remove reportedly 70 episodes for what even Ek describes as “some racially insensitive language” (because we’re assuming they asked him really, really nice… with lots of “pleases” and “…if that’s okay with you, Mr. Rogan”). “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.” So I guess no one wants to address that “history” part, or that 70 isn’t exactly a small number of episodes. And how many non-White people were involved in making those decisions?

But one thing that Ek wasn’t vague about? Rogan has a lucrative home at Spotify for as long as he wants (or for however long he continues bringing in listeners before the inevitable personal implosion). “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,” Ek argues in the letter, falling back on cheap buzzwords like “canceling” and “slippery slope” which means there’s someone in a PR firm somewhere earning a bonus. One has to wonder if Ek would ever be willing to have an open debate so he can explain what exactly this “slippery slope” is that Rogan defenders keep bringing up like some sad, desperate, cult-like mantra from the followers of a sad, third-rate prophet. Now here’s the letter Ek hopes helps him sleep at night:

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