Spotify hosted brunch ahead of Trump inauguration and donated $150,000 to ceremony

nme.com:

Spotify hosted a brunch one day before Donald Trump’s inauguration and donated $150,000 (£122,000) to the official ceremony.The music streaming service held the brunch to celebrate the “power of podcasts in this election”, inviting high-profile podcasters Joe Rogan, Ben Shapiro and Tim Pool to the event, although Bloomberg reported that Rogan did not attend in the end.The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter also reported that the company donated the sum of $150,000 to the inauguration ceremony.

In response to the report, Spotify claimed that “the donation aims to continue to expand our presence in Washington D.C. while furthering the goals of our platform and our creators.”“It is in line with the work we do in capitals around the world to advance our policy issues, regardless of who is in power,” a company spokesperson said.Spotify also issued a statement to Bloomberg about the brunch, describing it as “business as usual”.“Spotify has long hosted events in Washington D.C.

and other capitals worldwide, bringing together political leaders, media figures and industry peers from across the political spectrum”.Rogan welcomed Trump onto his podcast, which is hosted by Spotify, in the days leading up to the election in November.