Spotify subscriptions grew 15 percent amid Joe Rogan controversy
What controversy?
Spotify in an earnings report on Wednesday said premium subscriptions rose to 182 million last quarter — the same quarter in which the company faced backlash over Joe Rogan's podcast. This represented a 15 percent year-over-year increase.
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This growth was despite the wave of musicians who pulled their music from Spotify earlier this year in protest of COVID-19 misinformation spread on Rogan's podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. The boycott started with Neil Young in January. Amid the controversy, Spotify repeatedly defended working with Rogan, whose deal with the streamer reportedly cost $200 million.
"I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer," Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said. "We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope."
Rogan also faced backlash for resurfaced clips of him using the N-word, for which he apologized.
Recently, Rogan claimed he also gained subscribers to his podcast during the controversy. "It's interesting, my subscriptions went up massively. That's what's crazy," he said. "During the height of it all, I gained two million subscribers."
