Would you shop at a bookstore that sold books by Bill O'Reilly or Oprah?

[cinematicdiversions]

Would you use a cable service that carried Fox News?

Would you allow your city or state to have a library carry a book by Hitler?


Because that is really the Spotify question. It is more of a bookstore than a radio station. You pick what you want to listen to. Out of the 75 million songs they carry, I bet a few have racist or insensitive lyrics. They carry music by Wagner and Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Page. thier 3.2 Million podcasts could have opinions you disagree with or facts that are wrong.

Heck Spotify gave 25 million to a couple of lazy, rich unemployed people whose family helped burn down the White House. (Fortunately Harry and Meghan are lazy grifters so no worries about boycotting thier podcast they haven't bothered to record it yet)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is not radio. Like a bookstore, you pick what interests you and listen to that. Want to listen to nothing but Death Metal or Island music or K-pop here is a million songs. Want a podcast that covers the Buffalo Bills or Global warming plenty of those?

We get upset about republicans trying to police what we read and yet here we are trying to police what others listen to.

Look, I have no issues calling out Joe Rogan. he deserves it. I have no issues calling out David Bowie or Jimmy Page for molesting underage girls. But we choose what we listen to. And China Girl is a catchy tune. So sue me.

[kimbutgar]

1. Barnes and Noble sells both kinds of books.

But I notice there are limited copies of books written by liberals and a bunch of books written by right wingers. Assolini juniors book was on marked down on the bargain table.

[Salviati]

2. If that bookstore had a $100 million dollar deal for the exclusive rights to o'reilly's book...

... filled with antivaxer lies and other nutjobbery, then yes, I would refuse to shop there.

We may have a choice of what we want to listen to, but Spotify is doing more than just making this podcast available for people if they want to, they are making a choice to directly line his pockets to make this podcast with a portion of the money that you're paying them to listen to other music.

[RockRaven]

4. +1

[ibegurpard]

26. The Fox News model

Subsidize their propaganda network with football and Married with Children. That's how it happened.

[hlthe2b]

3. Where is the line? How many should die before we intervene in "fire in crowded theater" rhetoric?

Since you mention Hitler and 'Mein Kampf' as an example, what if the next Spotify star is a White Nationalist advocating for violence against POC or Jews... Or a violent, angry incel advocating beating and raping women who won't give young, self-entitled men what they want and think they deserve?

Rogan's not advocating violence, you say? Well, his misinformation is just as damned deadly.

Yes, I believe in Free Speech, but it has NEVER been limitless. Nor should it be when it harms or creates a systemic deadly risk to countless millions.

[cinematicdiversions]

7. Honestly Rogan is a stoned Charlie Rose for the Gen X / Millennial crowd

He is not my cup of tea and I have never listened to him outside of snippets shown on social media. (More of a True Crime Brewery kind of guy)

I have no idea why Spotify gave either him nor those twits from England money for exclusivity. Money better spent getting the rights to the Scarface Soundtrack back on the service IMHO, (Also Airplane Soundtrack and Conan the Barbarian original score)


But I am hardly going to cancel a useful utility because someone I don't engage with said something I disagree with. Anymore than I would cancel my internet service because my browser gets the Daily Mail.

[hlthe2b]

15. One needn't cancel to send a message. Let influential musicians know you want them to follow lead

of Neil Young and Peter Frampton and David Crosby... Maybe a progressive like Taylor Swift joining or others of that level of influence. And no, Spotify doesn't even have to cancel him. Merely reign him in on topics that are harmful and for which he has no background, training, or competency--like practicing medicine without a damned license.

[cachukis]

6. I will continue to support free speech and acknowledge

stupidity. I refer to Bonhoeffer that stupidity is a moral issue. If the only place I can get a copy of "Catch 22," also sells stupidity, I will buy the "Catch 22." If there are so many people supporting the purchase of stupidity, then we have societal issues that will take generations to abate. I will continue to teach the lessons of Heller's experience and hope some of them will get through.

[Buckeyeblue]

27. Good post. I agree.

[Scrivener7]

8. Would you shop at a bookstore that carried a LOT of copies of a book called

"Cool Guys Spread Covid Wherever They Can"?

And that bookstore plunked a boatload of money down to be the exclusive carrier of that book?

And that bookstore spent another boatload of money to promote that book to as many stupid people as they possibly could?

I certainly wouldn't.

Not in a million years.

Really silly analogy.

[cinematicdiversions]

9. And yet if you listen to Spotify it is very possible to have no idea they even carry Joe Rogan.

It is not like there are ads. They only recommend songs and podcasts related to what you already like and follow.

[Scrivener7]

10. You know now.

Seriously, now that you know, and you know that he is pushing death and pushing it hard, would you really use Spotify?

[cinematicdiversions]

12. Look I don't have cable. But everyone who does literally is giving money to Fox News.

And yet we have people on this very site who admit to using a cable service and to funding Fox News. Hell, we have Latest Breaking News every time one of those overpriced mouthpieces on any of the cable news networks moves from one to another.


Joe Rogan has not done anywhere near the damage to America as 24 hour news has. It simply is not there. Yet we found the news channels particularly Fox and then decry people that listen to music on Spotify?

Maybe it is an age and generation thing. But we have bigger problems in America than a podcast. And these problems re being funded by people who watch CNBC and CNN with thier cable service even if they never watch Fox themselves they make the existence of Fox possible with their donations.

[Scrivener7]

22. You have a point. Fox has been chipping away at it for a long time and

has definitely been a force for all that is bad in our society. I personally don't have cable, but of course I did for years. Fox played a large part in my cutting the cord but you are right. For the years I had cable, they did benefit financially from my patronage.

Rogan, though, has a much larger audience, so I think you are underestimating his damage. He's not "just a podcast." He has 11 million viewers per show while Carlson and Hannity have about 3 million. He's a juggernaut and he is choosing to be consistently anti-vaxx. He is convincing his much larger audience to spread Covid.

[milestogo]

11. You're asserting an equivalence between Bill O'Reilly and Oprah?

Why?

[FSogol]

13. Whaaaaa, leave Spotify alone! Whaaaaaa.

[tinrobot]

14. But Spotify is not a bookstore in Rogan's case, it is the publisher.

Sure, Spotify lets you listen to K-Pop and Death Metal, but it licenses that content. Often for pennies on the dollar. You can also listen to those artists anywhere - Pandora, Apple Music, etc. They don't have an exclusive.

With Rogan and a few others, Spotify has an exclusive and pays obscene amounts of money for that content. That puts them in the role of publisher, or more accurately, producer.

[cinematicdiversions]

17. That is a fair point of view. And I disagree with them paying for any exclusive content.

I think it is a waste of money. (See Harry and Meghan above)

I still think it is strange that this Hipster Doofus is getting so much attention.


Plenty of DUers (Based on posts I have seen) give money every month to Tucker Carlson through thier Cable subscriptions. Now this is a generational thing as many people under seventy no longer have cable (Or satellite radio BTW) simply because technology has moved on.

Yet I never see them being called out for supporting someone a thousand times more destructive than a Joe Rogan. If you watch Rachel on MSNBC you are funding Fox News through your basic cable subscription. In this day and age there is no reason to watch cable. The world will be better if you stop watching and honestly you are better off watching something (Almost anything) else.

Hell, read a book or listen to a podcast.

[LiberatedUSA]

16. Wasn't on Spotify to begin with.

But I will say that I tend to not let politics get in the way of enjoying life and the pleasures it has to offer; such as food. I don’t care what a business owner’s politics are, if I like their food I am eating it.

[Hangingon]

18. Yes

[Skittles]

19. THEY DO NOT AFFECT PUBLIC HEALTH

WHY IS THIS SO HARD FOR SO MANY PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND

PS I have never been a fan of Oprah for promoting QUACKS like Dr Oz and Dr Phil

[totodeinhere]

20. It's a moot point about Spotify for me since they do not support lossless files.

Apple Music and Amazon Music do support lossless files so I prefer them.

[Ms. Toad]

21. Yes to #1 and #3, no to #2 -

which is the Spotify question.

As to #2, I'm actively paying for access to Fox News. I won't do that.

As to #1 - If I'm not buying the books at the bookstore (and others aren't either) the store will stop carrying the books. I don't pay to support Oprah or Bill O'Reilly by shopping at a bookstore which carries books I choose not to purchase.

As to #3 - from an educational perspective - I think books by Hitler should be available. I'd much rather the library purchase one copy which many can read, than that everyone go out and buy one.

[cbabe]

23. Spotify-Jared Kushner connection revealed in DU post. Does this change your viewpoint?

[ibegurpard]

24. And artists have a right to pull their products

If they don't like the store. What's your problem with that?

[The Grand Illuminist]

25. It actually goes to

The rights ownerships to decide.