Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has justified standing behind podcaster Joe Rogan as a slew of aging rockers flee the platform — proudly stating that the service is “not in the business of dictating the discourse” of its creators.
“I know some of you feel disappointed, or angry, or even hurt, by some of this content and the fact that it remains on our platform,” Ek told staffers in an impassioned 15-minute speech at a town hall Wednesday, according to audio obtained by The Verge.
“There are many things that Joe Rogan says that I strongly disagree with and find very offensive,” Ek conceded, calling the fallout “incredibly complicated” and a learning moment.
But 54-year-old UFC commentator Rogan is “the number one podcaster in the world by a wide margin,” Ek stressed, noting he was leading 93 markets.
While Rogan’s exclusive deal with Spotify is “a hard pill for many to swallow,” it has also been key in driving toward the service’s dream of eventually having “50 million creators and a billion users,” Ek said.
“If you want even a shot at achieving our bold ambitions, it will mean having content on Spotify that many of us may not be proud to be associated with,” he told his staff, according to a transcript of the speech.
“Not anything goes, but there will be opinions, ideas, and beliefs that we disagree with strongly and even makes us angry or sad,” he warned.
