I must admit, if there was a platform I’d be leaving over what they’ve done and what they’ve enabled… I’d stop spending thousands of dollars with AT&T over their creation of One America Network. Or maybe YouTube over the way they provided and encouraged a viral platform for every -ism out there including Birtherism, Trutherism, Racism and the undermining of almost any educational principle known to humanity. Or Facebook. Or TikTok.
Spotify’s response, placing a COVID warning on a couple of podcasts, is bullshit. Just as much bullshit as most all of the above platform’s responses. Whether it’s the whack-a-mole response or the “one more strike and we swear you’re out” or the crazy black box that is Twitch’s approach to bikinis and toilets and racism, I actually think that Facebook’s at least got some semblance of the right choice – interrupting their share functionality to say “are you sure” before sharing things with certain keywords. We Live in a society where “supporting your favourite artist” can be derailed if they’re not simply a click away. Adding that extra click can make a huge difference.
How about every five minutes you place a COVID ad in material with those banners? You don’t “censor” your precious idiots, you don’t edit their materials… just ad (haha) that little something.
Sigh. I know, I’m not in charge.
Also, I KNOW there’s a difference: Spotify downright HIRED Joe Rogan and the following controversy has forced me to know that he and Seth Rogan aren’t the same guy. The excuse “I’m just having conversations” should NOT be allowed to fly once you’ve got an audience of over a thousand people and the phrase “I’m just asking the question” should be punishable by death, but, though I hate Spotify (ilyAIMY’s on it, but I don’t have the app) my hate is a functionality thing more than anything else. I hate the idea that people think they’re supporting you in some great way by following or listening on almost ANY streaming platform, and though Spotify’s the biggest, it’s certainly not the best, but it’s not the worst. But with one thing and another I don’t really agree with how Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have effectively deplatformed themselves in response.
I don’t think the “choose me or Rogan” letter from Neil Young is by ANY MEANS a “failure”. More points to Neil for sticking to his guns! Of course, cutting off a revenue stream when you’re a 76 year-old artist who’s had 50 years of stardom and a net worth of $200 million isn’t that much of a sacrifice (and frankly, I bet that his networth to streaming income ratio from Spotify isn’t TOO different from my own! Hell, I bet a pretty big percentage of Neil Young’s fanbase read all these headlines and then had to look up Spotify) – HOWEVER – I think it’d have been MUCH more effective to stay on Spotify and release a pro-vaccine album, or to donate proceeds from one’s streaming to pro-vaccine causes – or anything else. Neil Young may not have even been on Spotify’s top 100 charts, but he’s a known name and giving up the mic makes a statement, but it doesn’t continue the conversation too much.
There are many venues and platforms that I won’t ever return to, touch, or entertain the thought of associating with – and no-one will ever care – … so though I think he’s making a great moral decision to leave something that he doesn’t agree with, if he was actually looking to make a change, there were probably more effective ways than boxing himself in with an ultimatum and then picking up his tracks and going home.
Maybe he’ll do something. Maybe this conversation will result in something other than a brief dip in Spotify stock values. Unfortunately, I bet much like banning Maus has resulted in plenty of people buying the book, I bet this is helping Joe Rogan’s brand a LOT more than it’s hurting Spotify or helping vaccine awareness. We’re just that kinda mammal.