Can Spotify Stock Overcome Its Latest Controversy?
Joe Rogan's exclusive podcast on Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) has been getting a lot of attention lately, and not necessarily for good reasons. Recording artists like Neil Young and others have pulled their music from Spotify's streaming subscription service in protest over what they believe is misinformation regarding COVID-19 being discussed by guests on Rogan's podcast. The situation has investors wondering about the company and the stock.
Spotify has not pulled the podcast episodes in question, but it has included content warnings on the episodes containing discussion of COVID-19. Rogan has apologized for the controversy and said he will make more effort to educate himself about topics discussed and fact-check guests that speak about controversial topics. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek defended Rogan's podcast, which is top-ranking in 90 of Spotify's markets, and he said on the fourth-quarter earnings call, "We don't change our policies based on one creator, nor do we change it based on any media cycle or call from anyone else."
Spotify investors may have differing opinions on Rogan and his guests, but at the end of the day, it's still a high-level controversy and they have to make the same decision: Is Spotify worth investing in?
Source Fool.com
