Spotify CEO says that some of the things Joe Rogan says on his podcast is ‘very offensive’

The CEO of Spotify has admitted he finds some of Joe Rogan’s content “very offensive”.

CEO Daniel Ek made the remarks during a company town hall meeting, according to transcripts shared by The Verge.

Ek was addressing the ongoing controversy around the content of Joe Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, which is Spotify’s most-streamed podcast.

Some medical experts have alleged the podcast is spreading “societally harmful” Covid-19 disinformation.

Amid the controversy, Ek appears to have agreed that he does find some of the content questionable.

Addressing Spotify employees, Ek said: “There are many things that Joe Rogan says that I strongly disagree with and find very offensive.”

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It comes as musicians have been pulling their music from the streaming platform over the controversy.

At another point, Ek added: “If you want even a shot at achieving our bold ambitions, it will mean having content on Spotify that many of us may not be proud to be associated with.

“Not anything goes, but there will be opinions, ideas, and beliefs that we disagree with strongly and even makes us angry or sad.”

He also added that Rogan has played a large part in the company’s success. In May 2020, Spotify signed Rogan to a $100 million exclusive deal.

Ek explained: “We needed to find leverage, and one way we could do this was in the form of exclusives.

“To be frank, had we not made some of the choices we did, I am confident that our business wouldn’t be where it is today.”

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