Spotify Shares Rebound After CEO Addresses Anti-Vaccine Controversy

Spotify shares jumped 13.5% Monday to close at $196.26 after Spotify CEO Daniel Ek addressed in a Sunday blog post the controversy about podcast host Joe Rogan’s misinformation about COVID-19, which led musician Neil Young to pull his content from the Spotify platform last week (see 2201280056). Spotify shares hit a 52-week low last week amid the hubbub, and reports circled over the weekend about a $2 billion loss in market value over the week.

Ek didn’t mention Rogan or Young in the post, taking a centrist approach: “We know we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users. In that role, it is important to me that we don’t take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them.”

The executive said Spotify has had rules in place “for many years” about what is acceptable and not on its platform, but it hasn’t been transparent about the policies. It published those rules Sunday, saying they were developed by the company’s internal team and outside experts, and they're “updated regularly to reflect the changing safety landscape.”

When it announced the exclusive deal with Rogan in May 2020, Spotify said Rogan “fearlessly broaches far-ranging topics including neuroscience, sports, comedy, health, infectious disease, and our ever-changing culture -- all with a mix of curiosity and humor.” Though Spotify is the exclusive distributor, “Rogan will maintain full creative control over the show,” the company said.

Spotify's “rules of the road” are meant to guide “all of our creators -- from those we work with exclusively to those whose work is shared across multiple platforms,” Ek wrote. Rogan’s The Joe Rogan Experience is exclusive to Spotify in a deal reportedly worth $100 million. Young’s music is available on several streaming services: Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, Qobuz, Tidal, YouTube and his own Neil Young Archives, where fans can stream his music at 320 kbps quality for $20 a year.

Acknowledging “feedback” from the past several weeks, Ek said “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.” A group of some 270 doctors, physicians and science educators signed an open letter urging Spotify to take action on misinformation Rogan has promoted on the podcast.

Ek acknowledged the “incredibly complex” issues at play: “We’ve heard you -- especially those from the medical and scientific communities -- and are taking the following steps,” he said. They included publishing the platform rules, adding a “content advisory” to direct listeners to a COVID-19 Hub with facts and links to “trusted sources,” and testing platform rules in creator and publisher tools to raise awareness “around what’s acceptable and help creators understand their accountability.”

Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell joined Young “in solidarity” Friday, posting on her website: “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives." Mitchell referred to the open letter and posted a link.

E-Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren, also a member of Crazy Horse with Young, posted in support of Young’s campaign on NeilYoungArchives.com Saturday: “When these heroic women and men, who’ve spent their lives healing and saving ours, cry out for help you don’t turn your back on them for money and power. You listen and stand with them.” Lofgren had the “last 27 years” of his music taken off Spotify and asked the labels that own his earlier music to remove it, too, he said.

The controversy drew comments from various high-profile figures and organizations including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who urged Spotify to address COVID-19 misinformation, and the World Health Organization, which retweeted a story from Rolling Stone on Young’s demands to Spotify. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked Young for “standing up against misinformation and inaccuracies around #COVID19 vaccination.”