Spotify CEO Defends Joe Rogan After 'N-Word ... - Gizmodo

Spotify CEO Says Man He Gave $100 Million Does Not Represent Values of His Company. CEO Daniel Ek bizarrely insists that Spotify is not the ... TheA.V.ClubDeadspinGizmodoJalopnikJezebelKotakuLifehackerTheRootTheTakeoutTheOnionTheInventoryTech.Science.Culture.ShopSubscribeHomeLatestTechReviewsHowToScienceEartherio9ENESPAÑOLTech.Science.Culture.HomeLatestTechReviewsHowToScienceEartherio9ENESPAÑOLAboutGizmodoAdvisorGizmodoStoreExploreourothersitesHomeLatestTechReviewsHowToScienceEartherio9ENESPAÑOLNewsCEODanielEkbizarrelyinsiststhatSpotifyisnotthepublisherofJoeRogan'spodcast.ByMattNovak2/07/227:00AMComments(200)AlertsFilephotoofpodcasterJoeRoganhostingaUFCevent(left)andSpotifyCEODanielEkatapresentationinJapanin2016(right).Image:CarmenMandato/ToruYamanaka/AFP(GettyImages)SpotifyCEODanielEkwroteamemotoemployeesonSundayaboutthecontroversysurroundingpodcasterJoeRogan,whoremovedover100episodesofhisshowovertheweekendthatreportedlycontainedracialslurs.AndfranklytheGrammyAwardsshouldconsidergivingoutatrophyforthiskindofcorporatefence-sitting.AdvertisementEksimultaneouslyarguedRoganshouldn’tbe“canceled”forhisuseofthen-wordandthatTheJoeRoganExperiencedoesn’trepresentthevaluesofSpotify,accordingtothememo,firstobtainedbyPeterKafkaofRecodeMedia.“TherearenowordsIcansaytoadequatelyconveyhowdeeplysorryIamforthewayTheJoeRoganExperiencecontroversycontinuestoimpacteachofyou,”Ekwroteinhismemothatwasaddressedtothe“SpotifyTeam.”“NotonlyaresomeofJoeRogan’scommentsincrediblyhurtful—Iwanttomakeclearthattheydonotrepresentthevaluesofthiscompany.Iknowthissituationleavesmanyofyoufeelingdrained,frustratedandunheard,”Ekcontinued.WhileEk’smemoopenedbysayingJoeRogan’sshowdoesn’trepresentthevaluesofSpotify,theCEOhadtoacknowledgejusthowbadthingshavegottenduringthislatestscandal,firstkickedoffbyNeilYoung’sinsistencethathismusicbepulledfromtheservicebecauseRoganhaspromotedmisinformationaboutcovid-19vaccines.G/OMediamaygetacommission50%offMikoHeatedShiatsuFootMassagerAdjustitsheightupto4levelsatyourconvenience!Perfectsolutiontorelaxyourtensefootmusclesandregulatesbloodflow!Buyfor$60atWalmart“Ithinkit’simportantyou’reawarethatwe’vehadconversationswithJoeandhisteamaboutsomeofthecontentinhisshow,includinghishistoryofusingsomeraciallyinsensitivelanguage.Followingthesediscussionsandhisownreflections,hechosetoremoveanumberofepisodesfromSpotify.Healsoissuedhisownapologyovertheweekend,”Ekcontinued.Rogandidissueanapology,but“raciallyinsensitivelanguage”certainlyfeelslikeanunderstatement.Roganhasrepeatedlyusedthen-wordinepisodesandcomparedBlackpeopletomonkeysafterheattendedascreeningofPlanetoftheApes.Advertisement“WhileIstronglycondemnwhatJoehassaidandIagreewithhisdecisiontoremovepastepisodesfromourplatform,Irealizesomewillwantmore.AndIwanttomakeonepointveryclear—IdonotbelievethatsilencingJoeistheanswer.Weshouldhaveclearlinesaroundcontentandtakeactionwhentheyarecrossed,butcancelingvoicesisaslipperyslope.Lookingattheissuemorebroadly,it’scriticalthinkingandopendebatethatpowersrealandnecessaryprogress,”Ekwrote.“AnothercriticismthatIcontinuetohearfrommanyofyouisthatit’snotjustaboutTheJoeRoganExperienceonSpotify;itcomesdowntoourdirectrelationshipwithhim.Inlastweek’sTownHall,IoutlinedtoyouthatwearenotthepublisherofJRE.Butperceptionduetoourexclusivelicenseimpliesotherwise.SoI’vebeenwrestlingwithhowthisperceptionsquareswithourvalues,”Ekcontinued.AdvertisementAndthisiswherethingsgetreallyconfusing.Rogansigneda$100milliondealwithSpotify,whichistheexclusivehomeofhispodcast.TheJoeRoganExperiencewaspreviouslyavailableforfreebutSpotifypaidtogetthiscontentandpublishesit.AnyreasonablepersonwoulddescribeSpotifyasthepublisherofhispodcast.AndyetEkinsistsSpotifyisn’tRogan’spublisher.ButEksaidhe’stakingconcretestepstomakehiscompanybetter.Oratleastthat’showhe’spositioningit.Advertisement“Ifwebelieveinhavinganopenplatformasacorevalueofthecompany,thenwemustalsobelieveinelevatingalltypesofcreators,includingthosefromunderrepresentedcommunitiesandadiversityofbackgrounds.We’vebeendoingagreatdealofworkinthisareaalreadybutIthinkwecandoevenmore.SoIamcommittingtoanincrementalinvestmentof$100millionforthelicensing,development,andmarketingofmusic(artistsandsongwriters)andaudiocontentfromhistoricallymarginalizedgroups,”Ekwrote.“Thiswilldramaticallyincreaseoureffortsintheseareas.Whilesomemightwantustopursueadifferentpath,Ibelievethatmorespeechonmoreissuescanbehighlyeffectiveinimprovingthestatusquoandenhancingtheconversationaltogether.”AdvertisementWhileEkmightbecommendedforinvesting$100millioninmarginalizedgroups,rememberthatSpotifyspent$100milliononjustoneguy—theguythat’scausingthemallthistroubleinthefirstplace.“Ideeplyregretthatyouarecarryingsomuchofthisburden.Ialsowanttobetransparentinsettingtheexpectationthatinordertoachieveourgoalofbecomingtheglobalaudioplatform,thesekindsofdisputeswillbeinevitable.Forme,Icomebacktocenteringonourmissionofunlockingthepotentialofhumancreativityandenablingmorethanabillionpeopletoenjoytheworkofwhatwethinkwillbemorethan50millioncreators.Thatmissionmakestheseclashesworththeeffort,”Ekcontinued.AdvertisementIt’sdefinitelyinterestingthatEkbelievesthiskindofscandalwas“inevitable,”giventhathepaid$100milliontohavethisveryspecificpersonhostapodcastonhisplatform.“I’vetoldyouseveraltimesoverthelastweek,butIthinkit’scriticalwelistencarefullytooneanotherandconsiderhowwecanandshoulddobetter.I’vespentthistimehavinglotsofconversationswithpeopleinsideandoutsideofSpotify—somehavebeensupportivewhileothershavebeenincrediblyhard,butallofthemhavemademethink,”Ekcontinued.AdvertisementEkwentontosaythecompanyisconsultingwithoutside“experts,”whoweren’tnamed,andsaidhewantsto,“furtherbalancecreatorexpressionwithusersafety.”“Yourpassionforthiscompanyandourmissionhasmadeadifferenceinthelivesofsomanylistenersandcreatorsaroundtheworld.Ihopeyouwon’tlosesightofthat.It’sthatabilitytofocusandimproveSpotifyevenonsomeofourtoughestdaysthathashelpedusbuildtheplatformwehave.WehaveaclearopportunitytolearnandgrowtogetherfromthischallengeandIamreadytomeetitheadon,”Ekwrote.Advertisement“Iknowitisdifficulttohavetheseconversationsplayoutsopublicly,andIcontinuetoencourageyoutoreachouttoyourleaders,yourHRpartnersormedirectlyifyouneedsupportorresourcesforyourselforyourteam.”TechNews