Report: Joe Rogan Podcast Troubles Some At Spotify

Spotify Technology $100 million bet on Joe Rogan has put the audiostreaming company in business with one of podcasting’s most popular—and polarizing—voices. Amid controversy, executives are standing by that voice, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The deal to bring Rogan to Spotify is already showing signs of success. His millions of loyal fans have made “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast Spotify’s No. 1 show since arriving on the platform in September, “outperforming our audience expectations,” the company said when reporting its earnings Thursday. The company’s stock has run up more than 50% since the deal was announced in May.

Rogan’s show, which also tops Apple Podcast charts and other rankings, has troubled some company employees, who in a town-hall meeting in September expressed concern over material they felt was anti-transgender, according to people familiar with the matter.

Recent appearances on the show from two guests—first Abigail Shrier, an author critical of transgender issues; then Alex Jones, a radio host and the publisher of InfoWars, whose content has been removed from Facebook, Apple, YouTube and Spotify—have sparked outrage from listeners inside and outside the company who have posted on social media to express their disagreement.

A recent thread in the company’s #ethics-club channel centered on Rogan’s episode with Jones. Employees circulated information on how to flag content for review by Spotify’s trust-and-safety team, according to people familiar with the matter. That team is responsible for determining whether shows or music on the platform violate company policies barring content that incites violence or hatred, and can remove content if it crosses those lines.

Rogan’s episodes so far have passed muster with the company’s content policies, according to people familiar with the matter. Chief Executive Daniel Ek reiterated Thursday his desire to make Spotify the “largest audio platform in the world”—and said that ambition involves embracing diverse voices and differing opinions as the company chases scale in podcasting.

Rogan’s show will begin appearing exclusively on Spotify later this year; the exact length of his multiyear deal hasn’t been made public. Spotify has spent more than $500 million in the past two years acquiring podcasting companies, including Gimlet Media and Bill Simmons’s Ringer, to cement itself as a publisher in news, sports and storytelling.

The deal with Mr. Rogan, a comedian and former mixed-martial-arts commentator who last year said his show had 190 million monthly downloads, brings the Stockholm-based Spotify into more edgy territory. The reaction to his arrival suggests that listeners and employees are increasingly trying to hold the company responsible for the content it hosts.