Spotify Publishes Content Policy, Covid-19 Hub in Response to Joe Rogan Controversy

Spotify isn’t at this time removing any of Mr. Rogan’s episodes that detractors have highlighted in recent weeks for spreading what they deem misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines.

The new transparency marks a critical step in Spotify’s evolution as a media company after diving into podcasting as a key offering to expand beyond music and become more profitable. The company’s response shows a commitment to free speech as it stays resolute about keeping its lucrative relationship with Mr. Rogan but needs to assuage the creators it relies on as it seeks to dominate across both music and podcasts.

Folk-rocker Neil Young last week kicked off a groundswell of protest against Spotify after he took down his music from the service and accused Joe Rogan of spreading misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” Mr. Young wrote in a letter he posted on his website. Spotify struck a deal with Mr. Rogan in 2020 worth more than $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

Since then, folk singer Joni Mitchell and rocker Nils Lofgren have joined him in removing their music, they said. Podcaster and professor Brené Brown said she wouldn’t produce more for the service “until further notice,” and

Prince Harry

and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, said co-founders at its Archewell Productions last April began expressing concerns to Spotify “about the all too real consequences of Covid-19 misinformation on its platform.”

Thousands of listeners took to social media with the hashtag #DeleteSpotify and #DeletedSpotify, claiming they have unsubscribed to the streaming service.

Spotify on Sunday acknowledged the feedback it has been getting from creators and listeners and said it wanted to be more clear about its policies, which it has not changed.

“We haven’t been transparent around the policies that guide our content more broadly,” said Mr. Ek in the post. “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.”

As of Sunday, Spotify is beginning to tag Covid-19-related content with an advisory prompting users to check out the service’s new “hub for data-driven facts and up-to-date information” from the health and scientific communities.

Write to Anne Steele at [email protected]