Spotify denies losing 1.5 million followers to Joe Rogan controversy

‘Going through a little bit of controversy, there’s always going to be some impact,’ says Spotify’s CFO

Spotify’s loss of 1.5 million paying subscribers in 2022 supposedly has more to do with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine than Neil Young’s war against Joe Rogan.

The streaming giant downgraded its subscriber growth projections for the first quarter of the year, but chief financial officer Paul Vogel suggested Rogan, without mentioning him by name, wasn’t the reason.

“Going through a little bit of controversy, there’s always going to be some impact,” Mr Vogel said, according to Variety.

But the suspension of premium services in Russia is expected to cost the streaming giant about 1.5 million subscribers, he told Morgan Stanley’s 2022 Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Wednesday.

Spotify refused to buckle to a sustained public pressure campaign to remove The Joe Rogan Experience podcast from its platform.

Musician Neil Young gave Spotify a choice of kicking Rogan off the platform or else removing his music catalogue after the comedian hosted interviews with guests Dr Robert Malone and Dr Peter McCullough, who have expressed views on Covid-19 and the mRNA vaccines that run contrary to official medical advice.

Musicians like Joni Mitchell and Taylor Swift issued similar threats, while content creators like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle expressed concern over the platform allegedly spreading misinformation about Covid.

Grammy-winning singer India.Arie said she would remove her music from Spotify after she circulated a video of Rogan using the "N-word" several times over several episodes clipped out of their context and into one long-running supercut.

Rogan apologised for his past use of the word.

Spotify made a small concession with the inclusion of a coronavirus information hub, but chief executive Daniel Ek said during a town hall meeting the comedian would remain on the air despite strongly disagreeing with him on many issues.

While Spotify stopped premium subscription services in Russia, along with closing its offices and removing RT and Sputnik news services, Mr Vogel said the company would not disable the service entirely in the country.

A Spotify spokesperson said the business loss from its reduced Russia operations represents less than 1 per cent of the company’s revenue, Variety reported.

The company forecast 418 million monthly active users, including 183 million paying subscribers, by the end of its first quarter this year.