According to The New York Times (NYT), audio-streaming service Spotify’s controversial podcast host, actor and former athlete Joe Rogan has double the previously reported $200 million contract. Joe Rogan is required to host his podcast for three and a half years on Spotify on an exclusive basis. Earlier it was reported that Mr. Rogan’s contract on Spotify is $100 million.
The increased media attention to Joe Rogan’s contract with Spotify is not accidental – in late December last year, in one of his programs, guest virologist Robert Malone said that the US authorities had created a “mass psychosis” by making people believe that anti-covid vaccines are effective fight against COVID-19. Following the broadcast, more than 200 scientists and doctors sent an open letter to Spotify, urging the service to take action on misinformation they believe is contained in Joe Rogan’s podcast. Spotify refused to remove these podcasts. In late January and early February, several well-known musicians, including Grammy winners Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, announced their departure from Spotify in protest at the service’s unwillingness to remove the controversial Joe Rogan podcast. After that, the head of Spotify said that the company will allocate $ 100 million to support content from “marginalized in the past” social groups and strata. The American media suggested that this amount is not random and corresponds to the amount of Spotify’s contract with Joe Rogan.
For more on the Spotify-Joe Rogan controversy, see Spotify Separates Racism From Anti-Waxing.