After Neil Young called for his catalog to be removed from Spotify for having a podcast containing anti-vaccine messages, the CEO of the company Daniel Ekrevealed new rules of the platform and a new approach to handle information related to the coronavirus, including a warning about podcast episodes that contain discussions of the virus.
new rules
In a statement posted on Spotify’s website, Ek said that in recent days users of the streaming service have raised questions about policies “and the lines between what is and is not acceptable.” At no time did he refer to Young or Joe Rogan, the host of the podcast that the musician accused of spreading false information about the pandemic.
“We have had rules in place for many years, but it is true that we have not been transparent about the policies that guide our content more broadly,” says Ek. “This, in turn, raised questions about their application to serious problems, including Covid-19″.
The CEO of Spotify assured that the platform will include warnings directing listeners to the latest data and information shared by trusted medical and scientific professionals and health authorities of all the world.
According to Ek, the company has “the obligation to do more to provide balance and access to widely accepted information from the medical and scientific communities that guide us in this unprecedented time.
In addition, the platform will test ways to highlight your rules to creators and publishers to increase awareness of what is acceptable.
“Personally, there are many individuals and opinions at Spotify that I disagree with. It is important that we do not take the position of censoring content while also making sure there are rules and consequences for those who break them.”
The Joe Rogan Experience and the musicians leaving Spotify
For its part, Joe Rogan assured that it seems fine that notices recommending medical consultation be included before your podcast and that if the guest is “controversial”, warn that this person has an opinion contrary to “consensus”. “Sure, put it there. Sounds good to me,” he said.
In December of last year, the comedian had as a guest on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, to Robert Malone, an infectologist who was expelled from Twitter for spreading false information about the coronavirus.
As a result of this episode, 270 doctors and professors signed an open letter to Spotify asking it to “moderate misinformation on its platform.”
Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren, a guitarist who has collaborated with the Canadian musician and with Bruce Springsteen, also joined Young’s departure. “We encourage all musicians, artists and music lovers everywhere to stand by us and cut ties with Spotify,” Lofgren said in a statement.