Missing the Point

This Times article on Rogan/Spotify is hilarious, infuriating, and most importantly, misses the point. First, the hilarious:

As Mr. Rogan faced growing public criticism, Spotify responded by reaffirming its commitment to free speech, even as dozens of Mr. Rogan’s past episodes have been removed.

Maybe not rising to the level of “gazpacho police” silliness, but it still got me to burst out laughing at breakfast. And let’s remember this sentence the next time a huge corporation beats its mighty chest on behalf of “free speech.”

Of course, if Spotify actually believed in free speech, they wouldn’t be paying Joe Rogan…wait for it, it’s a lot more than you thought:

 …the true value of the deal that was negotiated at the time, which covered three and a half years, was at least $200 million, with the possibility of more, according to two people familiar with the details of the transaction who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss it.

Granted, what with inflation, $200 million doesn’t go as far as it used to, but still, that’s just plain infuriating.

(And while we’re on the subject of free speech, note that Spotify doesn’t hesitate to suppress the speech of those who want to talk knowledgeably about its business practices, despite the fact that, unlike Rogan’s Covid lies, such speech will physically harm no one.)

And then there’s this, where the reporters, by failing to push back, let Daniel Ek (the head of Spotify) get away with entirely missing the point:

Mr. Ek has made it clear that he is wary of taking on the role of censor. “We’re not in the business of dictating the discourse that these creators want to have on their shows,” he told employees earlier this month in a speech first reported by The Verge, adding that “if we only wanted to make content that we all like and agree with, we will need to eliminate religion, and politics, and comedy, and health, and environment, and education, the list goes on and on and on.”

Okay, step by step:

(1) Joe Rogan can say any stupid thing he wants to. BUT…

(2) Rogan does not have a right to be paid to say stupid things. That is entirely Spotify’s choice.

(3) Since Spotify is paying Rogan (and paying him very well), they are fully responsible when he says something. Especially when Rogan says something stupid and dangerous.

(5) If Spotify wishes to duck responsibility for Rogan saying stupid, dangerous things, they should stop paying him.

Yes, it really is this simple. Sure, there are complex issues of artist payment, monopoly, ethics, and access to mass media in a globalized community swirling about Spotify, but none of those issues is relevant here. Again:

Spotify is paying Rogan. They are responsible for what he says. If they were not paying him, they might — might — be able to argue that they are merely providing him a free speech platform. But they are paying him. And they should be held responsible.

PS There are plenty of alternatives to Spotify for music streaming, like Qobuz. As for podcasts, there are lots of free platforms out there.