Spotify 's share price climbed back up Monday after Joe Rogan addressed the controversy surrounding his views on the COVID-19 vacci...
Spotify's share price climbed back up Monday after Joe Rogan addressed the controversy surrounding his views on the COVID-19 vaccine late Sunday night, as fans call for Taylor Swift to follow Neil Young and Joni Mitchell by pulling her music from the streaming service.
Spotify shares were going for $197.1 in after-hours trading Monday evening, after falling to about $165.2 on Friday following the blowback from several musicians.
Last week, Young told Spotify in an open letter that he wanted his music off the streaming service because Rogan's podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, 'is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.'
Spotify complied and began pulling the singer-songwriter's catalogue from the service on Wednesday. On Friday, Joni Mitchell also demanded that her music be removed.
The Joe Rogan Experience is Spotify's highest-rated show, with each episode bringing over 10 million listeners. The streaming service cut a deal believed to be worth over $100 million in late 2020 for the exclusive rights to host the former Fear Factor host's podcast.
Meanwhile, Swift fans are calling for the pop star, 32, to remove her music from the service in solidarity with Young and Mitchell.
'The fact is that Taylor Swift could probably end Joe Rogan with one tweet to Spotify,' one fan tweeted on Sunday to more than 6,700 likes.
Swift owns the master recordings of her last three studio albums, but not of the first six albums that made her a bona fide sensation. Without rights to the official recordings, it is unclear if Swift could order those albums taken down.
Fans are calling for Taylor Swift to remove her music from the Swedish streaming giant
Singer-songwriters Neil Young (left) and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from the streaming service in protest of Joe Rogan's spread of what they deem to be COVID 'misinformation'
Much of the controversy was sparked by two recent episodes of the podcast in which Rogan spoke with an acclaimed cardiologist and expert virologist, both of whom were critical of the way in which the pandemic has been handled in the US
Share prices began rising on Monday after Rogan promised to 'balance things out' in an Instagram video posted late Sunday night (above)
Spotify stock prices have recovered, rising above what they were last Monday, when Young published an open letter asking Spotify to remove his music
Swift has more than 53 million monthly listeners on the platform, compared with Mitchell's 3.7 million and Young's 6 million.
Fans are calling on Swift to use her popularity to take on Rogan and Spotify
Some have suggested that Swift's popularity would force Spotify to take more action against Rogan.
'The way Taylor Swift could end Joe Rogan with a single tweet at Spotify… what is the hold up,' tweeted journalist Carlos Maza.
An account by the handle @CallToActivism tweeted: 'Who else thinks it would be AMAZING for Taylor Swift to punish Spotify by DITCHING them for choosing Joe Rogan's Covid lies over Neil Young's music? RT so @taylorswift13 hears you!'
Swift has not publicly commented on the blazing row that started between Spotify and Young.
Even so, she doesn't own the master recordings for her first six albums: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989 and Reputation.
Swift decided to re-record the albums after negotiations fell through with her previous record label, Big Machine. Red (Taylor's Version) was released in November to critical acclaim.
Owning the official master recordings of a song allows an artists the right to license it and collect royalties on it. Because Swift only owns the rights to three original albums and two re-recorded albums, it is unclear how much impact a Swift boycott would have on Spotify.
Young and Mitchell removed their music from the streaming giant to protest its spread of what Young described as 'deadly misinformation about Covid'.
Spotify shares were trading at $193.6 each last Monday, when Young's letter briefly appeared on his website before it was deleted.
Spotify's market value dropped more than $2 billion in the days following Young's announcement, with shares tumbling by around 12 percent.
Share prices began rising on Monday after Rogan promised to 'balance things out' in an Instagram video posted late Sunday night. They are now higher than they were last Monday, coming in at 197.1 each in after-hours trading Monday evening.
Swift, above in New York City on November 12, has more than 53 million monthly listeners on the platform, compared with Mitchell's 3.7 million and Young's 6 million
'I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform … They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,' Young said in his letter on Monday
Spotify stocks rose on Monday (above) after Rogan addressed the controversy himself
On Sunday, Rogan said: 'It's a strange responsibility to have this many viewers and listeners. It's nothing that I've prepared for. I'm going to do my best to balance things out.
'I'm just a person who sits down and talks to people and has conversations with them. I'm interested in telling the truth and finding out what the truth is.
'I'm very sorry that [Neil Young and Joni Mitchell] feel that way. I most certainly don't want that.'
Rogan spoke hours after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were in touch with Spotify to express their concerns the outlet could be spreading 'pandemic-related misinformation'.
Spotify, meanwhile, says it plans to add an advisory content warning to any episodes concerning Covid, which will link to a hub providing 'easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources,' the company in a statement.
'We will also begin testing ways to highlight our Platform Rules in our creator and publisher tools to raise awareness around what’s acceptable and help creators understand their accountability for the content they post on our platform.'
Critics say that's not enough to combat the hours of vaccine-skeptical content on the streaming service.
'This is mere cosmetic dusting,' tweeted Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist, health economist and senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists.
'I'm deleting Spotify,' he tweeted Thursday. 'You should too. Vaccine disinformation is not cool.'
Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek (pictured) says the streaming giant is making changes in response to the criticism it has faced in recent weeks aimed at star podcaster Joe Rogan
The statement was released shortly after it was revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had 'concerns' over the misinformation being shared
Spotify agreed to remove Young's music on Wednesday.
'We want all the world's music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators,' a representative told Variety.
'We have detailed content policies in place and we've removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID since the start of the pandemic. We regret Neil's decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.'
In a now-deleted letter that Young posted online Monday, he specifically took aim at comedian and podcaster Rogan, who signed a $100 million deal with Spotify in May 2020, giving them exclusive rights to his show The Joe Rogan Experience.
'With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE [Joe Rogan Experience], which is hosted exclusively on Spotify, is the world's largest podcast and has tremendous influence,' he writes.
'Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy.'
'I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform … They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,' continued Young, who is married to Blade Runner actress Daryl Hannah, 61.
Rogan has accused the government of deliberately holding back or discouraging the use of alternative treatments for Covid, such as monoclonal antibodies, and selectively preventing some people from accessing the treatments (pictured: a vial of the Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, March 2021)
'I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.
'Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule,' he adds.
Much of the controversy was sparked by two recent episodes of the podcast in which Rogan spoke with an acclaimed cardiologist and expert virologist, both of whom were critical of the way in which the pandemic has been handled in the US.
But Rogan, 54, has criticized the American government and the CDC's approach to the pandemic since late 2020, speaking out against vaccine mandates, vaccine passes and enforced mask wearing, while cautioning healthy young people under pressure to get jabbed.
He has also been vocal about the government's reluctance to discuss any other potential treatments of Covid-19 besides the vaccine, and questioned why public health organizations have been so quick to encourage vaccine uptake without extolling the benefits of improving one's baseline health.
The podcaster's detractors have long decried what they perceive to be an 'anti-vaccine' stance, accusing the podcaster of discouraging people from following government guidelines around Covid.
YouTube has removed Joe Rogan's (left) interview with the scientist who helped invent mRNA vaccines Dr Robert Malone (right) and who claimed that the US is now like Nazi Germany with society 'hypnotized' to believe in vaccines and extreme pandemic measures
The 61-year-old doctor's account was suspended a day before the release of the podcast, with Twitter citing a violation of the platform's rules. Clips from the podcast were also subsequently pulled off of YouTube
Others meanwhile have pointed out that Rogan's words are often taken out of context and that he is simply giving people access to views and opinions - often expressed by experts - that question the official narrative of the US government. Many have also argued that the media's attempts to discredit Rogan are tantamount to censorship.
Rogan is unvaccinated, but says he is simply against vaccine mandates, not the vaccines themselves.
In podcast #1642 with comedian Andrew Santino, Rogan said: 'I'm not an anti-vaxx person. I said I believe they're safe and I encourage many people to take them.
'My parents were vaccinated. I just said that if you're a young, healthy person that you don't need it.'
His comments came days after a podcast with comedian Dave Smith in which Rogan said he would not advise healthy people aged 21 to get the vaccine.
'If you're like 21 years old, and you say to me, should I get vaccinated? I'll go no.
'If you're a healthy person, and you're exercising all the time, and you're young, and you're eating well, like, I don't think you need to worry about this.'
Rogan has criticized big tech for its de-platforming of reputable individuals who presented viewpoints alternative to the official narrative, pointing to Malone's Twitter ban as an example.
'They removed [Malone] for not going along with whatever the tech narrative is because tech clearly has a censorship agenda when it comes to Covid in terms of treatment, in terms of whether or not you are promoting what they would call 'vaccine hesitancy' - they can ban you for that' Rogan said.
Malone, whose Twitter account with over 500,000 followers was suspended one day before the podcast's release, is the owner of several patents related to mRNA vaccine technology and has been involved in the development of vaccines and repurposing of drugs for several viruses.
The podcast quickly went viral as the doctor, whose career has been inextricably linked to the creation and promotion of vaccines, ripped into the way in which they have been rolled out in the US.
'I'm personally offended by watching my discipline get destroyed for no good reason at all except, apparently, financial incentives, and - I don't know - political a**-covering.
'Our government is out of control. They completely disregard bioethics. They completely disregard the federal common rule.'
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