During a series of recent company meetings, multiple Spotify employees reportedly demanded that the platform remove additional episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience due to their controversial guests and/or conversations.
Vice first reported on these contentious internal exchanges, which sources indicated have taken place across ten separate sit-downs thus far. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has reportedly been on hand for at least one of the discussions, working to quell team members’ criticism over the continued on-platform availability of several Joe Rogan Experience episodes. According to attendees, Ek has also implored staff not to leak the meetings’ details.
That word of the long-running dialogue is circulating appears to suggest ongoing disagreement between Spotify workers and execs. Moreover, one of the JRE episodes reportedly at the center of the controversy – a mid-July conversation with author Abigail Shrier, who penned a book entitled Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters – is still available on Spotify presently.
Nevertheless, the heated confrontation seems to intimate that the Joe Rogan Experience episodes missing from Spotify may not make their way onto the platform after all. Alex Jones, whose JRE episodes have yet to arrive on the service, previously attributed the absence to technical difficulties. But with the additional context of the above-mentioned meetings, it appears that these installments might have been intentionally – and permanently – omitted from the transition.
Spotify first started transferring Rogan’s older podcasts onto its platform roughly two weeks ago.
The lost conversations are still drawing the ire of more than a few dedicated fans.
Rogan specified upon announcing the multimillion-dollar deal that Spotify wouldn’t be involved in his podcast’s creative process. And on a broader scale, others are suggesting that the issue may come to a head when the longtime UFC commentator looks to book future guests – potentially threatening the exclusive Spotify agreement.
Many believe that The Joe Rogan Experience’s immense popularity is rooted in the raw, unfiltered nature of the conversations it delivers from a variety of individuals. (Past guests have included a number of politicians and political commentators, scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and artist Post Malone, to name just some.) And needless to say, compromising this unique, all-encompassing format, in terms of guests and/or specific conversations, could dissuade listeners and viewers from tuning in.
On the other side of the coin, Spotify’s opting not to remove the Abigail Shrier JRE episode (in spite of the reported employee pushback) might reflect a desire to maintain a relatively strong professional relationship with Rogan. SPOT ascended substantially during the week following the announcement of the JRE deal; even after factoring for recent losses, the company’s per-share worth is about $85 higher than it was at 2020’s start.
Lastly, Rogan himself has been conspicuously silent about the missing episodes and the Spotify deal – possibly because of ongoing behind-the-scenes talks.
More as this develops.
Get rid of the whiney employees and let Joe Rogan be Joe. The world loves Joe – your employees not so much.
To the employees, if your unhappy with management, then take your talents to another company. Your problem is solved.
The world may not love Joe, but freedom of speech has to be upheld. It’s not like he is pushing hate speech or yelling fire in a theater. He’s not my things and he’s clearly biased, but…
Muh freeze peach
This is what Spotify will do if they are smart. There is a reason why the JRE was one of the most popular podcasts in the world, if not the most popular. They would be fools to mess with that after spending $100 million to acquire it. And if not, I just hope the contract allows Joe to walk away with the bulk of that money if Spotify won’t hold up their end of the bargain.
Really? Truth be known, 99% of the world doesn’t even know who “Uncle Sam” Joe is, besides the majority of America loves HOWARD!
Really? Truth be known, 99% of the world doesn’t even know who “Uncle Sam” Joe is, besides the majority of America loves HOWARD!
Ah.. cancel culture at its finest.. don’t like it? Just silence it… Amazing that the people who are targeted to be silenced don’t try to silence the ones targeting them…
Cancel culture? You just love those catch phrases and buzzwords to support your claim. Oh wait, you didn’t support anything. Pathetic comment, as usual.
Pointing out an example and labeling actually does just that, it supports the claim. Taking a stand for free speech is supporting something. Shut your pie hole.
Pointing out an example and labeling actually does just that, it supports the claim. Taking a stand for free speech is supporting something. Shut your pie hole.
Pointing out an example and labeling actually does just that, it supports the claim. Taking a stand for free speech is supporting something. Shut your pie hole.
They are employees. Demanding anything of execs should simply end in a meeting where their employment is center discussion. We tell you what we want done & in the case you veer, how to do it. Refuse, feel free to untether thine self from our building & payroll will be in contact with you.
That meeting with HR will melt any snowflake! These employees that are taking a stand, must stand back. They can be replaced.
It’s all free speech until a black man kneels during a football game
Spotify is a terrible company. They just paid Joe Rogan millions of dollars just to tell him what he can’t and can do. That should be enough money to startup a music streaming service that actually pay per for their talents.
Freedom of Speech, Cancel Culture…Profit off of lies & destroy peoples lives!? Alex Jones was a guest on Rogan’s show. The Sandy Hook conspiracy is just one of many lies he has told on Infowars to become Rich & Famous. Yes, Spotify paid Rogan & Spotify is now responsible for the content.
https://www.wnpr.org/post/alex-jones-loses-appeal-sandy-hook-lawsuit-moves-forward
Yes Freedom of speech, If you don’t like what someone says then do not listen to it. There is a safe space somewhere where they will parrot your views and opinions back to you. I personally want to hear other view points and opinions than my own. There may be a better to do something, or a different perspective not thought of. And I will never know about those things if I let someone control what I can and cannot hear.
This isn’t true. I work for Spotify, closely. We’re all pretty happy about it. Couldn’t be better. What we don’t like, Is digital music news and their fake news. To the person who wrote this article, you’re a liar.
What would happen if an employee at Spotify objected and wanted all episodes taken down where Joe uses the “F” word?
It’s crazy I just put an app in the Apple App Store one of the thumbnail said breaking into song during quarantine. They told me that was a violation of the Covid pandemic Snowflake rules.
The best podcast talk show whatever you want to call it. Leave the guy alone it’s what makes him popular.
Those of us who listen to jre do so because it’s unfiltered and the wide variety of guests. If Spotify continues to silence and stifle our freedom of speech I’ll be removing my Spotify account.
Really? Truth be known, 99% of the world doesn’t even know who “Uncle Sam” Joe is, besides the majority of America loves HOWARD!
Posting three times still makes your point invalid.
Error
Likely some elite execs didn’t want some topic to open peoples mind. So they said hey just blame it on the employees. Mean while it’s their elite friends who are the ones doing the cancelling. Its simply don’t like it? Don’t watch it! Why the people who do like it not matter?
Sounds like BS to me that Spotify are blaming this on it’s employees. Their employees are probably too afraid to say anything and no doubt this crap is coming from the top. Jones needs to come back on ASAP or Rogan should walk.