Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify has created an 18-member council to advise the company on policies addressing harmful content on the audio platform “while making sure we respect creator expression.”The move comes after a backlash earlier this year against Spotify and Joe Rogan, host of the No.
1 podcast on the service, over accusations that “The Joe Rogan Experience” spread COVID misinformation. In addition, Rogan drew fire after it was revealed he had used the N-word in dozens of episodes; Spotify subsequently removed 70 “JRE” episodes and CEO Daniel Ek apologized to staff members about the situation.Spotify insisted the creation of the advisory board, announced Monday, was not specifically because of the Rogan controversies.
Sarah Hoyle, the streamer’s head of trust and safety, told Reuters that Spotify created the council address overall safety issues and not in response to “any particular creator or situation.” That said, Spotify’s moves to respond to criticism of its content-safety policies were clearly triggered by the Rogan backlash.
In January, Ek posted a lengthy statement outlining Spotify’s official content policies, after artists including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell demanded their music be removed from Spotify in protest of its distribution of “The Joe Rogan Experience” and called for a boycott of the service.
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