A recent episode covering Covid-19 led to criticism of Spotify from misinformation groups, and artists announced they would take their content off Spotify as long as Spotify continued to host and support the JRE podcast. The content on JRE has repeatedly been criticised for pseudoscientific claims, misogyny, racism, misleading health advice and further prejudice left unchallenged. The deal was struck about a year after Spotify started investing heavily in extending its music-focused platform to also include podcasts. The timeframe for the collaboration is not known. The multi-year licensing deal is said to be worth over $100 million. Spotify then struck a deal with Rogan, making all his content exclusive to Spotify, a deal that came into effect on Septemwith exclusivity finalised in December when the show content disappeared from other channels. Quick background if you're not familiar: Before last year (2021), the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) podcast was not available on Spotify, with Rogan saying Spotify didn't pay enough. Hence his focus on repeatedly emphasising the growth advantages of the Rogan deal. It would appear to me that Daniel Ek is taking this whole ordeal somewhat personally, and more importantly: seeing it as a questioning of his ability to make sound business decisions. Heads up: there is now a part 2 to this analysis. What I find most disconcerting is seeing a CEO addressing employees as if they do not understand the bigger picture of business, while himself seemingly missing the bigger picture of their distress. The speech fails to acknowledge Spotify's role in any harm, which – to be fair – is no surprise.

Great for growth!'Īs I'm reading the full transcript of Daniel Ek's internal speech to employees, a speech he urged them not to leak to the press, I am unsettled by its lack of recognition for the very real employee concerns.

13 min read Cartoon of a smiling bald guy giving a thumbs up and saying 'No worries, it's a smart business deal where we can't tell him how to produce his shows.

Rogan spotify deal