Spotify said that it had no plans to censor Rogan's podcast, but that it would provide content advisories on any podcasts with discussions about COVID-19 in the future.īut Spotify's big bet on podcasts also suggests it's evolved into a social platform - which will likely involve it in the same types of controversies that have plagued leading social networks like Meta Platforms' Facebook and Twitter in recent years. Rogan on Sunday apologized for the controversy and promised to provide some balance of opinion on shows that feature controversial guests.

In response, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and other music artists are pulling their music from Spotify's catalog - and more popular musicians could potentially follow suit. The bulls believe it will ultimately boost Spotify's margins by reducing its dependence on expensive licensed music, but the bears believe the costs and risks of securing some of those exclusive podcasts are too high.įor example, Joe Rogan is facing criticism for having guests on his show making misleading comments that spread misinformation regarding vaccines. It also bought the exclusive rights to Joe Rogan's podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, for more than $100 million in 2020. In the past three years alone, Spotify acquired the podcast studio Gimlet Media, the Ringer podcasting network, the podcast technology companies Megaphone and Whooshkaa, and the podcast discovery platform Podz.

Spotify is trying to differentiate itself by aggressively expanding its podcast platform through acquisitions and exclusive podcasts. Spotify has a growing dependence on podcasts That lack of stable profits makes Spotify a tough stock to recommend as higher interest rates boost borrowing costs for unprofitable companies. However, analysts still expect it to post net losses in the fourth quarter as well as the full year.

Spotify is trying to improve its profitability by shifting toward higher-margin podcasts while reining in its marketing expenses.

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