Streaming giant Spotify is bracing for a loss of about 1.5 million paying subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, and it said that Joe Rogan isn’t to blame.
Rogan has faced a backlash over the past several weeks amid accusations of spreading COVID vaccine misinformation on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Several musicians also pulled their work from Spotify, protesting the platform’s decision to stand by him.
While the embattled comedian had faced what appeared to be a tide of detractors vowing to pull their Spotify subscriptions, the company revealed that its decision to suspend its premium service in Russia, amid its invasion of Ukraine, has had more of an impact.
According to Variety, the information was shared by Spotify CFO Paul Vogel, as he spoke at Morgan Stanley’s 2022 Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Wednesday.
Though he didn’t directly name former Fear Factor host Rogan, Vogel did allude to the furor sparked by the media personality’s podcast, as he said: “Going through a little bit of controversy, there’s always going to be some impact.”
However, the true impact on the numbers appears to have come from its suspension of services in Russia, with Vogel stating that Spotify was previously trending toward adding 8 million total users, including 3 million paying subscribers, in the first quarter of 2022.
After Russia’s military attacks on Ukraine started late last month, Spotify closed its offices in Russia and pulled content from the country’s media outlets RT and Sputnik. According to Spotify, Russia represents less than 1 percent of the company’s total revenue.
