axbom’s Twitter Archive—№ 36,457

I read the CEO town hall speech to Spotify employees and had many thoughts. My concern is how words spoken are hugely significant in times of distress, and this felt condescending. Just a 15-minute speech and I wonder about its impact. New post: axbom.com/spotify-ceo/
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 32 Retweets ❤️ 82 Favorites 2022 Feb 5 Mood -1 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
As many as 70 episodes of “The Joe Rogan Experience” have been quietly removed in recent days by Spotify. Neither Rogan nor Spotify have given an explanation. nytimes.com/2022/02/05/arts/music/joe-rogan-spotify-apology-slur.html
Permalink On twitter.com ❤️ 7 Favorites 2022 Feb 5 Mood 0

…in reply to @axbom
At the end of my post I have now added a link to this page, which contains clips providing context for the types of harm being referred to. Content warning: racism, sexual assault, holocaust denial, ableism, abusive slurs paper.dropbox.com/doc/Joe-Rogan-Examples-iEzmH6GkkYSdAvs4OzEoU
Permalink On twitter.com ❤️ 5 Favorites 2022 Feb 6 Mood -15 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
CEO Daniel Ek sent a memo to Spotify staff this weekend. This has also leaked online and I’ve been reading it this morning. Full text: cryptpad.fr/pad/#/2/pad/view/iMC3zzMDn8Vfogz+oLJiVn1onv1BHLm724tMjEO1R+k/
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 1 Retweets ❤️ 2 Favorites 2022 Feb 7 Mood -1 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
Key takeaways: * Rogan himself took the initiative to take down episodes over the past days * Daniel Ek does not believe “that silencing Joe is the answer” * Doubling down on “we are not the publisher of JRE” * $100 million for creators from “historically marginalized groups”
Permalink On twitter.com ❤️ 2 Favorites 2022 Feb 7 Mood -1 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
Also: Spotify intends to “expand the number of outside experts” they consult with for balancing “creator expression with user safety”. For me an admission of not having anticipated real harm and finding themselves short-staffed in managing this harm.
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 1 Retweets ❤️ 4 Favorites 2022 Feb 7 Mood -4 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
Reading the same memo I also see signs of many employees actually *having* anticipated that harm. A more pressing dilemma may then not be a shortage of competence, but how existing competence is surfaced and listened to.
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 2 Retweets ❤️ 11 Favorites 2022 Feb 7 Mood -5 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
Something else that is not pointed out enough: Spotify employees are not asking their CEO to "silence" Joe Rogan. They are asking their CEO to not endorse, amplify and multiply him. The difference is monumental. Using the word "silence" is a straw man tactic.
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 5 Retweets ❤️ 15 Favorites 2022 Feb 7 Mood -2 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
Question: If the 70 episodes with racial slurs taken down over the last few days was Rogan's idea, why was Spotify okay keeping them up before? Are they saying no content review was done before a $100 million deal? Or that one was done and they were fine with the content?
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 1 Retweets ❤️ 10 Favorites 2022 Feb 7 Mood +1 🙂

…in reply to @axbom
Also Daniel Ek doesn't appear to have a clue as to how brutally tone-deaf it is to communicate the same dollar figure for many marginalized creators as the one sum they just paid one profusely privileged man... Just_Nag_Em/1490655175052308480?s=20&t=Qo8Vefy03qIpdRRr-wwXbw
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 2 Retweets ❤️ 12 Favorites 2022 Feb 7 Mood -1 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
I added my updates thoughts on the Spotify memo to a part 2: axbom.com/spotify-ceo-memo/
Permalink On twitter.com ❤️ 3 Favorites 2022 Feb 7 Mood 0

…in reply to @axbom
“I think it's important you're aware that we've had conversations with Joe and his team about some of the content in his show, including his history of using some racially insensitive language.” Uhm why are they talking about content? Allegedly, Spotify is not Rogan’s publisher.
On twitter.com ❤️ 5 Favorites 2022 Feb 7 Mood 0

…in reply to @axbom
Looking at and re-reading both the speech and memo I am blown away by the apparent belittling of Spotify staff on display. There are clear attempts at misdirection and deceptive half-truths, as if staff don’t understand what is going on. Is this the honest expression of culture?
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 1 Retweets ❤️ 5 Favorites 2022 Feb 7 Mood 0

…in reply to @axbom
I see people claiming that Rogan clips are taken out of context. This can be a valid point at times. But Rogan *himself* took down 70 episodes since Friday, clearly signalling that being able to hear the context would not help him.
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 2 Retweets ❤️ 7 Favorites 2022 Feb 8 Mood -1 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
In case you’ve missed it, Spotify have a seemingly straightforward path out of the mess. Video platform rumblevideo have offered $100 million (there’s that number again) if he goes exclusive with them instead.
Permalink On twitter.com ❤️ 1 Favorite 2022 Feb 8 Mood -2 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
In other news: over a period of 1 year, Spotify stock is now down more than 50%.
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 1 Retweets 2022 Feb 8 Mood 0

…in reply to @axbom
Last week Spotify announced that content warning labels and links would be added to episodes with discussions about Covid-19. It was to be rolled out "in the coming days". 10 days later there are no such labels or any "content advisory" information. newsroom.spotify.com/2022-01-30/spotifys-platform-rules-and-approach-to-covid-19/
Permalink On twitter.com ❤️ 1 Favorite 2022 Feb 9 Mood -4 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
”If you want to sit with me and talk, you need to come to my table. And, I’m sitting with Joe Rogan.” ”But sharing the table with Rogan puts me in a tremendous values conflict with very few options.” – BreneBrown about her exclusive Spotify contract. brenebrown.com/articles/2022/02/08/podcast-update-february-8-2022/
Permalink On twitter.com ❤️ 1 Favorite 2022 Feb 12 Mood +1 🙂

…in reply to @axbom
I'm seeing the Spotify content advisory for the first time on the Malone episode. So no warning but just a big blue box with a title "Learn about COVID-19" and the call to action: "Looking for the latest information? Visit our COVID-19 hub" with the button "Learn more". 1/2
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 2 Retweets ❤️ 2 Favorites 2022 Feb 12 Mood -3 🙁

…in reply to @axbom
Clicking the button takes me to a selection of shows discussing Covid-19. None of which are official sources. This appears to be "the hub". At the top is a link to the official country-specific information, so for me a link to The Public Health Agency of Sweden. 2/2
Permalink On twitter.com ♻️ 2 Retweets ❤️ 2 Favorites 2022 Feb 12 Mood +2 🙂