Joe Rogan Threatens to Quit his $200 Million Spotify Deal Over Increased Censorship
Podcaster Joe Rogan has said that he might be forced to cancel his lucrative deal with music streaming platform Spotify if it gets to a point, “where I have to do it in some sort of weird way.”
Rogan’s podcast has received wide-ranging criticism over his approach and views on certain subjects, particularly his comments on Covid-19. Sections of his commentary on the pandemic saw a group of 270 doctors and health care experts write an open letter to Spotify, calling Rogan a “menace to public health.”
When the letter couldn’t move the company action, musician activists Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Nils Lofgren pulled their music out of the platform.
Spotify later issued a content advisory on some of Rogan’s episodes that carried controversial discussions. The company also removed 113 episodes of the podcast that featured interviews with far-right hardliners.
In his recent conversation with fellow MMA fighter Josh Barnett, Rogan insinuated that he would scrap off the deal.
“I will quit. If it gets to a point that I can’t do it anymore, where I have to do it in some sort of weird way where I walk on eggshells and mind my p’s and q’s.”
He also talked about the many interest groups that have raised concerns about his conversations.
“There’s more people poring over it but it’s the same thing. I do it the same way,” The 54-year-old former MMA champion said.
Spotify ‘s brought Rogan on board in a deal that’s reported to have fetched the podcaster $100 million. Rogan’s show is said to have accelerated to about $200 million, with insiders saying it could be worth much more, according to the New York Times.
Rogan’s show, which has placed Spotify in a lead position among major podcasters such as Google and Apple has raised a debate regarding the freedom of speech.
By the time his no-hold-barred show was coming to Spotify in May 2020, it had gained monumental success on YouTube.
Rogan didn’t divulge details of the direction his show would take in case the deal with Spotify hits a rock.
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