Despite being embroiled in a series of controversies over the past few months, including the Joe Rogan podcast drama, it seems like Spotify continues to thrive as the music streaming platform saw a spike in its users last quarter.
In an earnings report released on Wednesday, the platform reported that it amassed 182 million premium subscriptions over the past few months. The same time the company faced backlash for "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast.
Although the number of users was a million short of their forecast, the Swedish-based company noted that "excluding the impact of our exit from Russia, subscriber growth exceeded expectations." (via The Week)
Last month, the company suspended service in Russia amid the chaos happening in Ukraine.
In addition to Joe Rogan's drama, several musicians have pulled their music out from Spotify catalogs in protest of COVID-19 misinformation spread on the host's show.
It all started with Neil Young in January and a wave of singers followed him since.
Despite the backlash, the music streaming platform has not cut ties with the controversial podcast host; his deal with the company reportedly cost a whopping $200 million.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said in a statement, he doesn't believe that "silencing joe is the answer."
"We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope," he added.
In addition to COVID-19 misinformation, Joe Rogan was also slammed by online users for using the N-word slur, but he already apologized.
Joe Rogan Scandal Boosted His Spotify Listeners?
Aside from Spotify, Joe Rogan is also gaining subscribers after his controversy.
In a report by Time Magazine, 11 million people listen to "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast every episode.
Last week, the controversial host claimed that his scandal boosted his Spotify following.
In an episode, Rogan said, "It's interesting, my subscriptions went up massively - that's what's crazy. During the height of it all, I gained 2 million subscribers."
The host was heavily criticized for his views about COVID-19 and his use of racial slurs.
The backlash prompted Spotify to remove dozens of Rogan's previous episodes and added an advisory warning at the beginning of those that mentioned the virus.
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