Monday, January 24, legendary rocker Neil Young broke out in a public statement. “Neither Joe Rogan nor me, we don’t fit on the same platform,” Ranch Story or Needles and the damage causedgiving Spotify 48 hours Delete a podcast or delete its musicDo whatever you want.
Difficult because of image decisions, but no financial solution: not even two years ago Spotify to spend $100 million to host podcasts Joe Rogan’s Experience. No one is going to waste that money for content, as long as the content is not objectively shameful.
If Joe Rogan’s podcast is worth that money, it’s because people are listening to it — in Spain, for example, this Wednesday it was the 11th most listened in the country and the number one in English — — Conversely, if people listen to it a lot, it’s because it’s controversial. Rogan boasted that all kinds of experts have a voice, including those who agree with current health policies and those who criticize them. In this sense, saving distance, Joe Rogan’s Experience is a the fourth millennium This is not limited to information about the coronavirus or vaccines, but tackle any topic that offers a glimpse into the possibility of conspiracy in the shadows.
Neil Young, who sold the rights to his songs to the Hipgnosis investment fund for $150 million a month ago, is not the first to criticize Rogan’s handling of the pandemic, but he is the most famous. Young is a true legend in America, admired by the most classic rockers and fans of the purest folk and American ancestry.
He is the archetypal figure who falls enough to avoid open confrontation at all costs.However, as we said, Spotify had no choice: after a 48-hour deadline, the platform went ahead at the behest of Young’s label, Warner Music Remove almost all songs from their catalogHours later, Amazon Music and Apple Music reminded the public that they did continue to offer the Canadian musician’s songs. stream media.
Ironically, Young can still be found on Spotify as long as the song in question isn’t on Warner Music’s record. Between the soundtracks of Julia Roberts, Eat, pray and love And a compilation of the Hundred Saddest Songs of All Time, basically his hits, making his protest effectively a gesture to the gallery.Last year his songs added up a lot 6 million listeners per month. Not Drake’s fifty-three million, but not bad at all.
It’s not a platform for the elderly
Yang’s decision was immediately supported by Canadians Jonny MitchellAnother American folk music legend who hasn’t had as much influence on the Spotify service as Young, whose hits are still available on the platform, as well as a good portion of his albums recorded in the ’80s and ’90s Geffen Records – About his reputation. Even the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Henry and his wife Meghan Markle expressed their ‘discomfort’ with some content on the platform this week, without explicit reference to Joe Rowe root. Enrique and Meghan also have an occasional deal with Spotify to work with audio content.
all this led to Stocks fell 6% – About $2 billion – for a company that has been losing money for several quarters in a row. Of course, now is not an ideal time for subscribers and shareholders to doubt the quality of what they are paying for. Musically, at least, the bleeding seems to have stopped. Only Graham Nash, Neil Young’s partner in the legendary ’70s band Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, joined the boycott, The new generation doesn’t seem to want to know anythingif they pull their music from Spotify, the ones who could lose the most are probably those with the most Leo contracts with their respective labels, who are still the ones with the final say.
Even so, seeing what he saw and heard, Joe Rogan had to apologize. or something like that. So does Spotify, albeit with a small mouth.Content Platform Announced Will control anti-vaccine messages And it will delete any episode of any podcast deemed misinformation.
For his part, the podcaster has recognized himself as a big Neil Young fan and promises him to be more careful when choosing his guests, always trying to contrast opinions with data that confirm or disprove them. It remains to be seen how long this sudden awareness will last, which is undoubtedly driven by pressure from his primary payers.
Controversial Political Factors
All of this leaves us with a clear question, at least in Spain: who is Joe Rogan and why does he resonate with these three veteran composers? Although prominent anti-vaccine counterparts such as virologist Robert Malone or cardiologist Peter McCullough were involved in his plans, who insisted that vaccines were an “experiment” that could lead to more misfortune than benefit, Luo Root has openly declared himself “a vaccine-minded person with enormous utility”. “I just wanted to hear other opinions,” he said candidly when asked about his insistence on giving pseudoscientific opinions on his show .
In fact, Logan is nothing more than a debater. It is true that he has found a gold mine under the influence of the coronavirus, but its millions of listeners around the world what they are looking for is the constant conspiracy: They don’t care if Big Pharma wants to kill us all through our government cooperation, if climate change is an invention of some industry, or if there are aliens living among us, but they want to hide it from us. There will always be an “expert” with a college degree willing to defend the most unlikely theory on your show.
Various scientists have spoken out against him, and even Twitter ousted the aforementioned doctor Malone, which led Rogan to open an account on rival platform GETTR, which was launched last year by Donald Trump’s former aide and spokesman Jason Miller Created in summer. part of his presidency.Joe Rogan is not Steve Bannon Joe Rogan’s Experience This isn’t Breitbart News…but it’s hard to ignore the politics behind its project’s success.
In his eagerness to question everything and defend “freedom of speech”, Logan is America’s most delusional anti-establishment spokesman, this is not a minority. Questioning the efficacy of vaccines, the origin of the virus or the reality of climate change, Rogan fishes in a giant fishery.When entering the debate about whether there are forces within different governments to hide the truth from us — they even hid the famous Area 51 from fans of the UFO phenomenon — Rogan ends up putting various Bizarre and crazy advice Sure, their followers love to always be against the current for the latest truth…but they can’t help but bother those trying to get serious work on the podcast next door.
looking for immediate oblivion
All that said, things seem to be under control for both Spotify and Rogan right now. They sinned and repented, and when the media stopped paying attention, they would sin again. All of these controversies haven’t cost Rogan a follower, and probably not a Spotify subscriber. If he loses, he’ll likely come back after the rage passes, and we can’t rule out that happening to Young, Nash, and Mitchell himself. Another story is if a great musical figure shouted into the sky and announced his departure.
While that seems unlikely – taking a charlatan like Logan so seriously, in a big way, gives him an importance he doesn’t deserve – if suddenly Beyonce, Taylor Swift or dualipaeven Canada’s Justin Bieber made a similar decision and linked their songs to other platforms like Young did, then Spotify would have problems and would risk a chain that doesn’t exist now risk of effects.
Why do old rockers dislike Rogan so much, while younger (often vindictive) stars don’t care at all? It’s a mystery. Let’s not rule out some of them being listeners of the show from the start. If they’re not, they just don’t know it exists. If they hated them like Young did, they probably didn’t want to get in trouble. They still have a way to go, and no one wants to litter potential enemies along the way.
So, most likely nothing will happen. Pandemic will no longer be news, Rogan will be able to return to other controversies, perhaps less partisan, but equally unscientific. Spotify will continue to make money, millions will continue to ponder unprovable conspiracies, and Logan will become a respected figure among his followers and ignored by the rest of the universe.
If Spotify decides to kill the goose that lays the golden egg, YouTube or any other content platform will be roaming around. What Rogan couldn’t do was change his speech. As promised in a nine-minute video he posted on Instagram, toned it down, controlled it, made it tighter, yes. Be in the news, never. Rogan is a voice for those who don’t think they have a voice, and Spotify is happy to act as a spokesperson. If anyone wants to complain about it, well, let them generate the same or more money.