The recent controversy about Spotify with Joe Rogan and Neil Young is only partly about disinformation and offensive content. It also illustrates how streaming monopolies are using market power to lock in consumers and artists by making it difficult to leave their platforms. And it shows the inherent problems that arise when distributors own and control exclusive content.
Let’s address the distribution issue first. Podcasts have long been essentially an open format. Anyone can create them, and anyone can distribute them. For as long as they’ve been around, people have been able to listen to pretty much any podcast through Apple, Spotify or any number of podcast apps.
Spotify challenged this open standard by bringing in Joe Rogan as exclusive content to attract more subscribers and lock in existing ones. The problem is that Joe Rogan’s show is no longer a generally available podcast. It’s now a Spotify-only streaming talk show.
