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Spotify reports an 18 percent surge in subscribers and 40 percent spike in advertising revenue in final quarter of 2021 - before musicians began pulling songs over Joe Rogan controversy

 Spotify   finished 2021 on a high note after reporting a surge in subscribers and advertisers - but the streaming giant could see some head...

 Spotify finished 2021 on a high note after reporting a surge in subscribers and advertisers - but the streaming giant could see some headwinds as artists continue to call for the removal of their recordings from the streaming service due over Joe Rogan's COVID controversy.  

In its recently completed quarter, which ended December 31, Spotify reported 406 million monthly active users, up 18 percent from a year earlier, Wall Street Journal reported. 


Paying subscribers to the Swedish audio streaming giant also rose 16 percent to 180 million, topping the company's expectations.    

Average revenue per user for the subscription business in the recently completed quarter climbed 3 percent to $4.97, while revenue from subscriptions climbed 22 percent to $2.6 billion. 

Advertising revenue shot up 40 percent to $445.5 million, making up about 15 percent of total revenue during this quarter, WSJ reported.     

The surge in subscribers and advertisers was announced a week after singer Neil Young demanded that his music be removed from Spotify, citing the streaming service's distribution partnership with Joe Rogan and accusing Rogan's podcast The Joe Rogan Experience of spreading false information regarding COVID-19 and vaccines. 

On Spotify's Wednesday's earnings call, CEO Daniel Ek (pictured) called the issue complicated and said Rogan has to abide by its content policies

On Spotify's Wednesday's earnings call, CEO Daniel Ek (pictured) called the issue complicated and said Rogan has to abide by its content policies

Spotify's stock price, which is down 44% over the past year to $191.92, fell another 11% in after-hours trading because the company said it wouldn¿t provide annual guidance

Spotify's stock price, which is down 44% over the past year to $191.92, fell another 11% in after-hours trading because the company said it wouldn’t provide annual guidance

Neil Young's former bandmates from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young said they have asked their labels to remove their recordings from Spotify. Musicians Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Neil Young are pictured together in 2008

Neil Young's former bandmates from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young said they have asked their labels to remove their recordings from Spotify. Musicians Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Neil Young are pictured together in 2008


Spotify Chief Executive Daniel Ek called it a very complicated issue and said Rogan, like other creators on the company’s platform, has to abide by its content policies.

'There’s no doubt that the last several weeks have presented a number of learning opportunities,' Ek said during Spotify’s earnings call Wednesday. 

'We believe we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users.'

The good quarterly numbers haven't offset Spotify stock price, which is down 44% over the past year to $191.92. It fell another 11% in after-hours trading after the company said it wouldn't provide annual guidance. 

Spotify financial chief Paul Vogel said during the earning's call that company didn't anticipate any material change this year in its user-growth trajectory, according to the Journal.

Young posted a since-deleted open letter to his official website that read in part, 'Please immediately inform Spotify that I am actively canceling all my music availability on Spotify as soon as possible. I am doing this because Spotify is spreading false information about vaccines -- potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.

'Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule,' the statement continues. 'I want you to let Spotify know immediately today that I want all of my music off their platform. They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.'

On Tuesday, David Crosby and Stephen Stills joined Neil Young and Graham Nash in asking their labels to remove their collective recordings from Spotify.  

Rogan, (pictured) has many detractors for spreading disinformation about the coronavirus and other topics on the air

Rogan, (pictured) has many detractors for spreading disinformation about the coronavirus and other topics on the air

Multiple artist have accused 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast of spreading false information regarding COVID-19 and vaccines

Multiple artist have accused 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast of spreading false information regarding COVID-19 and vaccines

They are the latest musicians to take a stand over misinformation on the platform. From left, Neil Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young pose for a publicity photo circa 1970

They are the latest musicians to take a stand over misinformation on the platform. From left, Neil Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young pose for a publicity photo circa 1970

According to the announcement, the musicians have decided to remove their records from the streaming platform including the recordings of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby-Nash, as well as Crosby's and Stills' solo projects.

Nash has already begun the process to take down his solo recordings.

In a unified statement, the band members commented, 'We support Neil and we agree with him that there is dangerous disinformation being aired on Spotify's Joe Rogan podcast. While we always value alternate points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences. Until real action is taken to show that a concern for humanity must be balanced with commerce, we don't want our music - or the music we made together - to be on the same platform.'

Following a similar request by Joni Mitchell, the move reunites the five artists, who have been friends and collaborators since the 1960s, in a stance that they certainly could not have imagined 50 years ago. 

Public health officials have also urged Spotify to take action against Rogan, accusing the massively popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast of possessing a 'concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.'  

On Spotify's Wednesday's earnings call, CEO Daniel Ek called the issue complicated and said Rogan, like all creators on the platform, has to abide by its content policies. 

He also said it was too soon to tell if the controversy has had impact on subscribers.

'There's no doubt that the last several weeks have presented a number of learning opportunities,' Ek said on the call. 'We believe we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users.'

At 54, Rogan, the former taekwondo champion has millions of fans, who appreciate his outspokenness, his iconoclastic ideas, and the variety of his guests.

But he also has many detractors for spreading disinformation about the coronavirus and other topics on the air. 

For his accusers, he is particularly dangerous because his show The Joe Rogan Experience, which has been broadcast exclusively on Spotify since 2020 under a deal worth an estimated $100 million, attracts a staggering 11 million listeners per episode on average.

Often with a glass of whiskey in hand, he chats casually for two to three hours with a guest on topics as varied as flying saucers, psychedelic drugs, red meat and fitness, slipping in an expletive here and there. 

In 12 years, he has hosted nearly 1,000 guests, 88 percent of them male, according to the fan site JRELibrary.

They include Tesla boss Elon Musk, who smoked a joint on his set, whistleblower Edward Snowden and film director Oliver Stone.

But Rogan has also given voice to climate skeptics, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and, since the start of the pandemic, figures in the anti-vaccine movement, earning him the label of 'a veritable megaphone of right-wing lies' by progressive website Media Matters for America.

As for his guests, 'I'm interested in having interesting conversations with people that have differing opinions. I'm not interested in only talking to people that have one perspective,' he said in a video posted on Instagram after Young's criticism that seemingly conflated misinformation with opinions.

'I'm not trying to promote misinformation,' he continued. 'I will do my best to try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people's perspectives.'

He said he agreed with Spotify's announcement in response to Young and Mitchell that Covid podcasts would include links to factual and scientifically sourced information.

In a perhaps telling comment for someone who was already famous before launching his podcast, he admitted he had not been ready for the 'strange' responsibility of having 'this many viewers and listeners.'

'It's nothing that I prepared for, and it's nothing that I ever anticipated.'    

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