A few months after the genetically engineered SARSr-CoV-WIV virus was let loose on mankind, Joe Rogan bagged a $100m+ Spotify deal with no censorship restrictions or Spotify editorial control.
Mr. Rogan stressed repeatedly on social media that the deal would not change the nature of his show or make him an employee of Spotify.
The New York Times: Joe Rogan Strikes an Exclusive, Multiyear Deal With Spotify
That means Rogan has the money to eventually abandon the platform, build his own and take his 11m+ listeners with him.
That gives him populist power against Spotify and the coporate media so money that opposes Rogan that owns artist back catalogues is likely to mobilize. An obvious play is to increase pressure on Rogan by first moving the back catalogues of deceased and then retired artists off Spotify at increasing rate. If this happens, it will simply become a war of attrition for the remaining duration of Rogan’s Spotify contract.
Who of the currently performing artists after Neil Young may step into the fray remains to be seen. There’s a lot at stake as the narrative collapses but many tweeted their way on to the wrong side of history long ago. As long as enough of their paying fans made the same mistake as them, revenue is unlikey to hit zero for any current big hitter. Then again, the easiest play for corporate shills to make is to remain schtum and wait for the politics to blow over, then launch their new songs as some Gestures of Peace and Reconciliation. I hereby predict that U2’s next album will be titled just that, to be shortly followed by an extended collection of meandering B-Sides and even shitter tracks titled Exercises in Cackhanded Virtue Signalling.
As long as Rogan isn’t contractually tied in any way to any aspect of Spotify’s corporate performance he might just be able to survive that battle with his editorial values intact. Such a bun fight will simply provide him with even more to talk about, question and call out, which would be one of his obvious countermoves. He’s already provably on the right side of history by virtue of surviving Covid, not dying from the early treatment protocols he followed, and hosting guests who bring in endless streams of scientific and medical research that are censored by corporate media and repelled by corrupt politicians.
In the meantime, an alternative platform he built for himself, artists and content producers could possibly sack off big money while simultaneously upending the Spotify royalty micropayments model.
That’s at least three potential Big Wins Worth Not Shutting The Fuck Up For. First Ammendment, motherfuckers!
Now that Neil Young has publicly allied to the provably false narrative and has tried to personally stare down Rogan and lost, he can be called out by demanding evidence backing his position (if anyone other than him actually cares what he thinks or why). On Covid, I’ve never heard Rogan say anything false or knowingly misleading (I’m not an exhaustive listener but I’ve got good overall knowledge of the topic). He strikes me as an engaged searcher who is willing to explore and go wherever the path may take him. There’s not much more you can ask of a geezer with a podcast.
In my opinion, it’s unlikey that Young has any greater insight into Covid than Rogan but then puppets are hollow, most of all in their heads where there must be space for the puppetmaster’s hand.
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