The Beginning of a Spotify Exodus

Spotify should be more proactive in light of misinformation

Doomsday is rapidly approaching for sixties music fans. Joni Mitchell and Neil Young plan to remove their music from Spotify in protest of the platform hosting artists that perpetuate the spread of misinformation.

While these two artists were in their heyday over half a century ago, this decision hurts all modern fans. Their illustrious careers and impact on the music industry are unparalleled.

What prompted this abrupt decision?

Joe Rogan. That is all.

Young decided to remove his music from Spotify in protest of the company’s permittance and exclusive signing of Joe Rogan’s Spotify podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Notably, the podcast is home to a host of polarizing political opinions, but Young was specifically addressing the spread of vaccine and COVID-19 misinformation originating from Rogan’s platform. Mitchell soon followed Young's decision after his announcement.

The decision has created an uproar of clashing feelings from fans of both artists.

To remove someone’s music, art or voice is unequivocally a form of censorship. Though I disagree with nearly all of Joe Rogan’s opinions, he has the right to a voice, and Spotify isn’t one to silence it. Yet, the controversy is still nuanced. It presents a novel question for this generation's ethical standards due to the influence of the internet and prevalence of misinformation: is fake news censorable?

It’s complicated, I think. The impact of vaccine misinformation can be devastating. We are in the third year of this pandemic, and it's terrifying that some still believe the conspiracy that vaccines are a cog in the government’s machine for world domination. Consequently, large organizations must not be complacent in allowing the spread of misinformation, and they should be proactive in guiding users towards more fact-driven rhetoric.

Spotify retroactively made a statement on the controversy. They will now provide a “content advisory” warning. This feature is already available on Instagram when COVID-19 misinformation is flagged. Spotify was a platform originally for music, but has now transitioned to podcasts and news broadcasts. Therefore, having content warnings should be a default addition to the functioning of the platform. Spotify hired Rogan in an exclusive deal in December 2020 of the pandemic; they were aware of his politics around COVID-19 and still did not separate themselves from it.

Spotify can’t censor, but they can take a side.

The company should be reiterating that its views are not in agreement with the artists available on their platform. Spotify should be providing correct, accurate information to their listeners.

It seems that Spotify is the puppet-master in this situation. After all, they profit off of the misinformation circulating on their platform. Why not take some responsibility and tell the people the truth? Joe Rogan is not always right.

Young’s and Mitchell’s actions essentially only raise awareness and demonstrate the gravity of the misinformation epidemic. What they are doing is important, but the impact that it is going to make on the spread of misinformation is marginal. To remove their music is extreme, but they can afford it because their wealth and popularity isn’t necessarily reliant on the number of streams they get.

They are in a position of privilege and use it to their advantage to inform the public about how serious of an issue vaccine misinformation is. Young and Mitchell are probably hoping their popularity will influence other artists to join them. But Rogan is just as influential to his following as they are to theirs, so this might lead to a stalemate, halting the progress that Young and Mitchell are trying to create.

It’s worth considering that this could be the first step towards Spotify’s ominous future: an exodus of artists. This is a platform that now acknowledges the profit they make off of the spread of misinformation. I believe it will be more and more likely that artists will follow suit with Young and Mitchell if they hold similar views.

If more artists are to follow, I might have to resentfully transition to Apple Music. This is a decision I will hopefully hold off until the last straw (that being James Taylor removing his music and joining the protest with his friends), but hopefully that day will not come.