Showbiz411
Spotify’s Daniel Ek is in panic mode over the defections of rock stars Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren, Peter Frampton and others who are speaking out against the streamer. They’re pulling their music over disinformation being broadcast by right wing podcaster Joe Rogan. So now Ek says there will be new rules over how the disinformation will be disseminated. Spotify will still allow it, but they’ll tell you it’s wrong up front. So it will be the listeners’ decision to accept fake information. Isn’t that great? Ek says: “Personally, there are plenty of individuals and views on Spotify that I disagree with strongly.” But he’ll let them stay since he can make money off of them. And that’s what this is about. Spotify stock price has dropped by $70 since January 3rd. Will this stop the departure of the rock stars? I doubt it. But you can read the new Spotify proclamation here:
From Daniel Ek. You’ll note that Ek doesn’t mention the Neil Young situation or any of the musicians by name. But the panic is there between the lines.
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. 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.
You’ve had a lot of questions over the last few days about our platform policies and the lines we have drawn between what is acceptable and what is not. We have had rules in place for many years but admittedly, we haven’t been transparent around the policies that guide our content more broadly. This, in turn, led to questions around their application to serious issues including COVID-19. Based on the feedback over the last several weeks, it’s become clear to me that we have an obligation to do more to provide balance and access to widely-accepted information from the medical and scientific communities guiding us through this unprecedented time.
