Spitting at Spotify

I need some help with this one. Here’s the deal (as our  President would say): I started this podcast a number of years ago on the grounds that I just needed someplace to put my thoughts, so I didn’t have to bother others at the dinner table, and I didn’t care how many people listened to it. Of course, neither of those things is true. I do care about how many people listen; I was in radio, after all, and I still bombard others I meet with my opinions at every opportunity.

So I decided to put my SoundCloud podcast (called Coughswitch like this blog) on Apple Podcasts and most recently, on Spotify, to expand its reach a bit. But I joined Spotify exactly one day before Neil Young and later, fellow musician Joni Mitchell announced they were pulling their music off that platform because of misinformation that major podcaster Joe Rogan was spreading via his interviews on COVID vaccines, and the two claimed Spotify wasn’t doing anything about it. Other content providers are upset over Rogan’s handling of topics like race.

So now what? Did I hitch my tiny wagon to the wrong horse here? Am I a scab if I stay on Spotify?

I read that Mr. Rogan has 11 million listeners per show. I have about 10 – no, I mean the NUMBER 10, with one zero. To its credit, Spotify says it will attach links from reputable sources when it encounters harmful misinformation, and Rogan says he will strive for more balance in his interviews.

There are, of course, bigger questions here. Spotify may fall under the broad umbrella of social media, but it paid $100 million to exclusively distribute Rogan’s show and they promote him accordingly as their top act. That sounds like a conventional radio station to me.

Another question, of course, is when and if Congress might change the law to open the Wild West media players to the legal liability that conventional media face, perhaps by repeal of the famed Section 230. That would no doubt make lawyers happy and give those platforms an idea of what most of the old lame-streamers have to deal with. It’s hard to hang on to free speech while also navigating which content simply offends and which causes actual damage. That process is known as editing.

But, to return to the point, if I stay on Spotify, not many will notice that I’m there. But if I leave, not many will miss me when I’m gone. Looks like I will never know the fabled life of an influencer, but for the moment, I guess I’ll stay, until somebody talks me out of it.