So far, Spotify’s financial apologies for Joe Rogan’s statements may not amount to much. According to Bloomberg, the streaming service spent less than 10% of its $100 million Creative Equity Fund, a fund intended to promote diversity in podcasts and music, in its first year of existence.
According to reports, the company intended to spend the entire cash over three years, but it lacked a proper system for approving spending and was hesitant to acquire staff. According to sources, shifting objectives have also harmed the initiative.
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Parcast, a Spotify podcast network, has previously been chastised by unionised employees for a lack of investment. They protested to management in February that the corporation had approved only $5,000 of the $100,000 set aside for diversity efforts.
In a response to Engadget, Spotify did not address the funding claims. It instead referred to projects that the fund had previously financed.
Glow, an LGBTQ music promotion programme, marketing initiatives for Black artists like Kaytranada, and the recent expansion of the NextGen podcast financing project to assist development at historically Black institutions and universities are examples of this.
Latina/Latino creators have also benefited from the Creative Equity Fund.
The fund was formed in response to the artist-led outrage over Joe Rogan allegedly facilitating the dissemination of COVID-19 vaccination disinformation via his Spotify-exclusive programme.
While that was the impetus, opponents also referred to Rogan’s use of racist and transphobic words.
Spotify has frequently defended signing Rogan in 2020 but has removed several episodes that contain racist language. Its contract with the podcaster is said to be worth at least $200 million and will extend for 3.5 years.
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It is not surprising that Spotify will spend more on the diversity fund. Yet, Spotify’s apparent lack of spending does not help its cause.
If the story is correct, the corporation has had difficulty meeting its commitment to listeners who are concerned that the service is promoting hate and other dangerous lies.
