, Columnist
Joe Rogan Shows We're Trapped in Spotify's Cage
The streaming company’s latest controversy is a sign we need more competition in the winner-takes-all platform economy.
What a dilemma.
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When Neil Young launched his boycott of Spotify over its hosting of popular podcaster Joe Rogan, whom the rocker accused of spreading Covid misinformation, the Polish startup FreeYourMusic sprang into action. It tweeted the hashtags #cancelspotify and #byespotify to draw attention to its main product — the free transfer of music playlists from one platform to another.
Opportunistic? Sure. But also a reminder of the swirl of issues facing Spotify as it’s dragged into territory commonly associated with Big Tech, such as platform dominance.