Spotify has been under considerable pressure in the last week after a movement by Neil Young gained traction among artists and consumers on the platform .
The legendary musician removed his catalog from Spotify after demanding that this happen if they kept Joe Rogan , which spreads false information, especially about the Covid-19 pandemic.
In support of Neil Young, Joni Mitchell also requested the removal of his music from the platform , arguing that "irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people's lives."
With the movement gaining momentum, Spotify's decision outraged many, resulting in a loss of over $2 billion in market value last week (via Deadline ). Now, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has published an open letter.
The statement informs that the platform will begin adding a “content warning” to all podcasts that include information about COVID-19, and also that Spotify is making the company's “platform rules” public.
“Today we are publishing our long-standing Platform Rules. These policies were developed by our internal team in conjunction with several external experts and are updated regularly to reflect changes in the security landscape,” Ek wrote.
He said the platform is “working to add a content warning to any podcast episode that includes a discussion of COVID-19.” He also said that “we will begin testing ways to highlight our Platform Rules in our creator and publisher tools to raise awareness of what is acceptable and help creators understand their responsibility for the content they publish on our platform. This is in addition to the terms that creators and publishers agree to and that govern the use of our services.” Read the full letter here.
Besides musicians, other celebrities are also reconsidering whether they should remain linked to Spotify, such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle , who have an exclusive contract with the platform. According to Vanity Fair , the couple's audio company, Archewell, has a contract with Spotify worth $25 million.
