Spotify employees start to turn on Joe Rogan
Hands down the top two free-agent moves of all time were not in sports. Well, one kind of is. The first was when Howard Stern moved from terrestrial radio to Sirius. The second, more recent move was Spotify picking up Joe Rogan off of Youtube.
Yes, the moves made both men oodles and oodles of money. But they also had a seismic shift in entertainment. And after all, sports is entertainment. But now it seems as if in the hallways of Spotify there are some rumblings. And big ones.
Spotify wants to censor Joe Rogan
A report has come out that employees of the mega-company are threatening to go on strike if their newest acquisition is not censored. That's right, in the land of free speech, employees want Joe Rogan to be silent on some issues and have the ability to edit and remove sections of the comic and MMA broadcaster's show.
Back on Youtube, Joe Rogan had total control, and he said after signing the $100 million deal, it would stay that way. But according to DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS:
"Spotify employees were demanding direct editorial oversight over the recently acquired Joe Rogan Experience. That would include the ability to directly edit or remove sections of upcoming interviews, or block the uploading of episodes deemed "problematic". The employees ALSO demanded the ability to add trigger warnings, corrections, and references to fact-checked articles on topics discussed by Rogan in the course of his multi hour discussions. But some of the groups demands have already been met by Spotify management, though a refusal to allow further changes is stirring talks of a high profile walkout or strike. According to preliminary plans the strike would principally involve New York based employees, and would be accompanied by protests outside Spotify's Manhattan headquarters.".
So much for freedom of speech. The fact that Rogan was made to apologize for things said recently can't be sitting well with the funnyman. Even if it's added a lot of zero's in his bank account.
Joe Rogan is what you call an equal opportunity host. He's chatted with a who's who list of sports, music, politics, and all points in between, with every viewpoint imaginable. And allowed them all to state their views without leading questions.
While NOT AT ALL RELATED, it does come on the heels of UFC President Dana White being peppered with questions of should Colby Covington or any fighter be censored in what they say.
Although he allowed Conor McGregor (mostly) and Khabib Nurmagomedov to tear at each other, he's had no issues with what "Chaos" has recently said either. While White says he's all about free speech, that too has its limits. He's no fan of fighters talking about unionizing for example.
But back to Joe Rogan, he now has people he has to answer to. And deep down they might not be so open to people saying what they feel. It makes you wonder if Rogan, who recently moved out of California to go to Texas, may say it's not worth it, and look for a way out of the deal.