Spotify CEO Daniel Ek advised staffers Sunday that the corporate is not going to be “canceling” Joe Rogan after a clip of the podcaster utilizing the N-word went viral.
Ek defined his place on Rogan in a prolonged letter to staff that criticized Rogan’s feedback however fell in need of taking motion in opposition to the controversial host.
“Not solely are a few of Joe Rogan’s feedback extremely hurtful – I need to clarify that they don’t signify the values of this firm,” Ek wrote within the memo, which was obtained by Axios.
“Whereas I strongly condemn what Joe has mentioned … I understand some will need extra,” he mentioned.
“I need to make one level very clear – I don’t consider that silencing Joe is the reply. We must always have clear strains round content material and take motion when they’re crossed, however canceling voices is a slippery slope.”
Rogan, 54, dropped the N-word virtually two dozen instances whereas internet hosting his wildly standard podcast, “The Joe Rogan Expertise,” in line with newly unearthed clips.
The podcaster referred to as the viral compilation “probably the most regretful and shameful factor I’ve ever needed to discuss publicly” on Friday, saying the video was a collage of “out of context” snippets from “12 years of conversations.”
Ek confirmed within the letter that the corporate has had talks with Rogan about his use of “some racially insensitive language.”
Following the discussions, Rogan eliminated a few of his podcast episodes from Spotify, in line with Ek.
Spotify additionally caught behind Rogan amid his preliminary scandal surrounding COVID-19 misinformation on his podcast.
Legendary rocker Neil Younger and a number of other different notable musicians yanked their catalogs off Spotify after the corporate failed to chop ties with Rogan over the coronavirus controversy.
In Sunday’s letter, Ek additionally knowledgeable staffers that Spotify can be investing $100 million to assist increase range on the platform.
“I’m committing to an incremental funding of $100 million for the licensing, growth, and advertising of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content material from traditionally marginalized teams,” he wrote.
