Spotify responds to Joe Rogan uproar, and a growing trend in controversial content

polygon.com:

Late last week, after a series of open letters to Spotify imploring the streaming audio site to cut host Joe Rogan loose from its podcast roster over vaccinated-related misinformation, legendary musician Neil Young voluntarily removed his music from the platform. The uproar caused by Young’s protest prompted Spotify to finally issue a statement on Sunday.

On Jan. 30, in a blog post credited to Spotify founder Daniel Ek (that does not mention either Young or Rogan), Spotify announced that it was “working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19” which, when implemented, direct listeners to a COVID hub where they can find updates from the BBC, Politico, CNN, and other mainstream news sources.

“A decade ago, we created Spotify to enable the work of creators around the world to be heard and enjoyed by listeners around the world,” Ek writes in the post. “To our very core, we believe that listening is everything. Pick almost any issue and you will find people and opinions on either side of it. Personally, there are plenty of individuals and views on Spotify that I disagree with strongly. 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.”

Young’s condemnation of Spotify echoes the whirlwind around the release of Dave Chappelle’s Netflix special The Closer, which led many creators and internal employees to slam the streamer over anti-trans content. And both instances feel part of a bigger, growing conversation: How much