This topic was posted , thanks SeekAndFind.
Clip from Lew Later (Apple Defends Racially Diverse Emojis)Spotify Just Made a MAJOR Move... | February 18, 2022 | LaterClips
Posted on 02/04/2022 6:17:40 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Legacy artists are continuing to mount pressure on Spotify to remove their star podcaster, Joe Rogan, over “misinformation” and other vague transgressions. Perhaps the biggest transgression of all is that Rogan refuses to fit into their narrow, Boomer box.
At first it was funny, the idea of Neil Young thinking he had any leverage over the most popular podcaster in the world; a man they paid nearly $100 million to for the exclusive rights to his groundbreaking program. It has become increasingly concerning as others such as Barbara Streisand and Joni Mitchell have joined in, threatening to pull their music over Rogan’s freedom of speech.
From my vantage point, it seems Spotify and Rogan still have the high ground here. There is a lot at stake, a lot more than the Boomer Brigade understands. It is why Spotify, despite the specter of losing rights to play valuable music, must stand their ground on the Rogan controversy.
Spotify is between a rock and a hard place.
If they don't give in, they lose music.
If they do give in, they doom themselves to ceaseless pressure to cancel artists who aren't on-the-narrative.
What should they do?— Sharyl Attkisson🕵️♂️ (@SharylAttkisson) February 4, 2022
Spotify decided years ago that they wanted to become the premier platform for podcasting. They decided to take on Apple, the inventor of podcasting, for the spot and have been making moves ever since. Rogan is their most lucrative investment, but they’ve also been quietly cutting million dollar deals with other popular podcasters you’ve probably never even heard of. Podcasts like The Rewatchables and Last Podcast On the Left have moved their content over to Spotify to great success. Spotify’s user interface is much easier to use and navigate, and it doesn’t require Apple products for optimal functionality. They are well on their way to accomplishing their goal, which is why they felt comfortable spending $100 million on a single podcast.
So think about what happens if they cave on Rogan. Does it end there?
Of course not. We know that nothing is ever good enough for the progressive cranks. An apology requires more apologies, a capitulation requires more capitulation, and so on and so forth. On the left, there is no redemption, only a constant churning of penance, punishment, and proving one’s progressivism. Wash, rinse, repeat. If the Boomer Brigade succeeds in ousting Rogan, they will turn their attention to the myriad of other performers on the site who don’t toe the Branch Covidian line…and there are hundreds, maybe even thousands. Including my own.
Spotify cannot pursue their goal of owning the podcast market without podcasts, and they can’t entice new and lucrative podcasters when they can’t even guarantee that they will stand up for those podcasters against cancel culture.
In the interest of being fair to the Boomer Brigade here, Spotify and other streaming platforms devour the royalties and profits of the artists they feature. Their pay structure is notoriously unfair, with even the most famous of artists making mere percentage points of pennies per stream. The entire system is suspect, and set up to punish the creators while rewarding the corporation. That’s been a problem in the music industry since the beginning, but it’s been exacerbated by the streaming revolution.
Perhaps these artists are simply looking for a good reason to pull their work from Spotify without seeming selfish. Perhaps they are just taking advantage of the Rogan issue to release themselves from their contracts, something they’ve longed to do for a while. It wouldn’t be surprising and frankly, it wouldn’t even be unfair. They are also on a losing end here and in the future, we really should have a public conversation about how these streaming services rob musicians and artists.
However, in the case of Rogan, Spotify is in the right here. How long they can withstand, with mounting pressure, will be up to them and their bank account. So far, they seem to be falling down on the side of their original business plan. My suspicion is that few of these people in the Boomer Brigade are actually able to decide if their music streams to Spotify or not, and even fewer actually want that; they just want the specter of the virtue signaling.
We live in interesting times. While I’m not a fan of Spotify’s treatment of music rights and royalties, I am a huge fan of their podcasting side, and I sincerely hope they continue to stand by Rogan and all of us.
I don’t listen to Rogan, but as a Spotify subscriber, I will cancel my sub within minutes of them announcing a ban. I’m over this bull.
This is not about Rogan. It is about an ongoing dispute over royalties exacerbated by the loss of income from COVID canceled tours.
“It is why Spotify, despite the specter of losing rights to play valuable music, must stand their ground on the Rogan controversy.”
I wouldn’t call the music that “valuable,” though I am a Boomer like those musicians. I outgrew them decades ago, and even if Spotify loses them, you can still access that music on Pandora, MP3Panda, etc. What’s more, I also have a podcast on Spotify, so I’m inclined to root for Rogan, though I have only listened to him a few times.
Tidal is much better anyway.
Rogan was brilliant for taking millions from Spotify. They were foolish to pay that much even if he’s the number 1 podcaster. Facebook’s staggering user exodus has proven its easy for consumers to switch digital platforms.
“Always the Dollars!” - Casino
If Joe Rogan is really lucky, the woke idiots will cause Spotify to cancel their Joe Rogan contract, he’ll get paid nonetheless, Spotify will lose half their subscribers, and then he’ll be able to sign elsewhere for another $100 million.
I remember when Neil Young sang about the needle and the damage done. Now he says shut up and take the needle, and don’t bother the man with any questions.
What a hoser...
bkmk
We assume these music has-beens are acting on their own behalf. But what if this battle is much bigger than Barbara Streisand's virtual signaling, or David Crosby thanking Pfizer for his liver transplant and support for his life-long drug addictions.
Consider this. Spotify's annual 2021 fiscal year revenues were a measly $11 billion.
But Spotify is trying to establish a leading position in podcasts, perhaps the next digital gold mine. And here you have digital giants like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook who failed to read the tea leaves and are itching to get a piece of a hot market Spotify is carving out.
Amazon has a lot to lose because Spotify can leverage its podcast business to move into the audio books space that Amazon owns today. Facebook lost 20% of its value and would love to own a piece of a lucrative new revenue stream.
So hang onto your hat. This controversy has just begun and we'll probably see a number of artists pecking away at Spotify because they are working on behalf of the Tech Giants as they try to muscle in.
The TV media giants also have a lot to lose if podcasting takes off as a mass market. Why watch TV news if you can easily listen to an engaging podcast on your morning commute?
Lots of fireworks ahead! GO SPOTIFY!
I still have my vinyl if I really want to listen to CSN, Have a few 8-tracks too.
I’m sympathetic to the artists on the issue of streaming royalties. I use the Spotify free service almost exclusively for the music. I have recently listened to Rogan’s podcasts specifically for the COVID-related interviews. But Spotify appears to be crushing it with advertising. I get a pair of commercials every 2 to 3 song plays. That’s kind of excessive, but it’s better than paying SiriusXM where they whack me $46 every 6 months specifically for “music royalties” out of a total bill of $277. I don’t imagine much of that royalty fee actually makes it to the artists.
Spotify should do nothing. Remain silent. No press releases, no apologies or explanations. Let the geriatric hippies get their 15 minutes back in the spotlight and just remain silent.
Eventually when the press has tired of leftist race pandering on this, those same geriatric hippies will quietly slink back because in the end, it’s all about the money and they have very few places to go to get it.
This topic was posted , thanks SeekAndFind.
Clip from Lew Later (Apple Defends Racially Diverse Emojis)Spotify Just Made a MAJOR Move... | February 18, 2022 | LaterClips
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