According to new reports, Ava DuVernay’s production company Array has severed ties with Spotify.
The decision comes just a year after Array signed an exclusivity deal spanning multiple years with Spotify. No podcasts were released under that agreement, but several scripted and unscripted shows were in development. Ava DuVernay has not spoken publicly about the decision, nor has Spotify commented.
Ava DuVernay joins a growing list of artists and creators who have left Spotify in recent weeks.
Neil Young started the exodus by calling out the COVID-19 misinformation spread by the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Young asked that his music be removed in protest of the service, with several other artists following him. Former bandmates Crosby, Stills, and Nash joined by pulling their music from Spotify. Joni Mitchell also announced her support for Young and removed her music.
India Arie said that Neil Young opened a door she must walk through and joined him in condemning Joe Rogan for different reasons.
A super-cut of Joe Rogan using the n-word slur began circulating on social media shortly after Arie highlighted Rogan’s problematic usage of the slur. Rogan issued a video apology and highlighted the context in which he was talking about the word.
Spotify is continuing to support Rogan, with Daniel Ek saying it’s a “slippery slope” to cancel his voice. But the New York Times recently reported that Spotify paid over $200 million for its multi-year exclusivity deal with JRE – $100 million more than previous reports. Rogan has since called the backlash to the video a “political hit job” on a recent podcast episode.
Meanwhile, Spotify stock is struggling as Joe Rogan’s podcast continues to make headlines. The SPOT stock is at $152.27 at the time of writing, which is down more than 5% over the last five days. SPOT is down more than 37% for 2022 and has reached near pre-pandemic levels in terms of pricing. It will be interesting to see how Wall Street responds to the growing issue. Spotify HiFi still remains missing while spatial audio continues to set Apple Music apart in the realm of competition.
It’s amazing how Joe Rogan ruined Spotify for so many people, and politics and stocial commentary come first over music…