Artists Joni Mitchell and Neil Young threatened to pull their music from Spotify, citing Joe Rogan’s vaccine misinformation via The Joe Rogan Experience. Generally, Joe Rogan is no stranger to controversy.
After that, the host has repeatedly found himself in hot water. Recently, videos of him saying the N-word several times also resurfaced, prompting Singer India Arie to call him out on Instagram. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek stands by Joe Rogan through these claims. However, this situation just became more complicated.
In 2020, Spotify struck a licensing deal with the hosting rights to Joe Rogan’s podcast. According to the New York Times, there was some information about Rogan’s deal with Spotify. The number initially reportedly cost Spotify 100 million dollars. However, according to a former Spotify employee, the number might be double that.
Why The Joe Rogan Spotify Deal Might Be An Issue
On top of the Joe Rogan controversy, Spotify consistently receives criticism for not playing its artists enough for streams. This brings forth the question: If Spotify can pay millions for a podcast, can’t they pay their artists more money? Co-founder of Songwriters of North America Kay Hanley seems to think so. She said in the beginning, the streaming service made vague promises to keep the interests of the artists in mind. They didn’t follow through.
In fact, the platform used “blatant pay-to-play-schemes involving artists forgoing royalties in exchange,” said Hanley. They also fought to keep the pay rate low in court. However, this issue isn’t that simple. Allegedly, Spotify doesn’t pay the artists at all. Instead, they pay the people holding the rights to an artist’s catalog.
India Arie also appeared on a recent episode of the Daily Show to speak with Trevor Noah about the issue. In addition to her problems with Joe Rogan’s choice of words, she also notes Spotify’s streaming protocol. Of her decision to speak out, she said, “it’s about my integrity, my dignity, and hoping to create more of that for other artists, too.”
For now, organizations like Songwriters of North America and Union of Musicians and Allied Workers will continue to fight for reasonable pay. At the same time, Joe Rogan keeps his multi-million-dollar deal with Spotify.
Written by Kimberly Stelly
