Spotify is literally being cancelled over the endless Joe Rogan controversies.
The traffic to the cancellation page for Spotify Premium has jumped in recent weeks as the audio streaming company faces backlash over its support for podcaster Joe Rogan, according to analytics firm, SimilarWeb.
SimilarWeb told CNN on Tuesday night that traffic to Spotify’s cancellation page spiked 196% for the weeks between 17 January and 24 January.
In the week starting 17 January, Spotify’s cancellation page saw 39,924 visits which increased to 118,168 visits in the week starting 24 January.
The unusually high traffic comes after Neil Young announced that he would be pulling his music from the streaming platform, according to Similarweb.
On January 26, Neil Young demanded that his music be removed from Spotify as he blasted the streaming platform for continuing to host the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also released a statement revealing that they have ‘expressed concern’ to Spotify about the ‘all too real consequences’ of spreading misinformation about Covid.
In January, hundreds of medical professionals signed an open letter to Spotify calling on the site to implement a misinformation policy on the platform, particularly naming the Joe Rogan Experience.
‘By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions, Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals,’ the letter reads.
The episode in question was one that aired on December 31 featuring Dr Robert Malone, an immunologist who claims to have created the mRNA technology but is now a vocal sceptic of the vaccines that use it.
The traffic to Spotify’s cancellation page showed no signs of slowing down as Rogan continues to face fresh criticism over using the N-word multiple times on his podcast years ago.
Rogan whose contract with Spotify is worth a reported $100 million has since apologised but Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek’s stance that he won’t ‘silence’ Joe Rogan as a result of his past use of racial slurs has not been well received.
This week, Neil Young urged the employees of Spotify to leave the company citing Ek as the problem. ‘Get out of that place before it eats up your soul,’ said Young.
