So much so, in fact, that the case for a new, dedicated regulatory body is building, and supported by no other than a former FCC chair. But for many regulators and law makers, the arguments do not pass muster. Throughout this, Facebook, now Meta, has fought tooth and nail to try to build a case of exceptionalism and for the internet to regulate itself. Facebook won some battles along the way, but it also lost a lot too, catalysed by milestones, such as the Cambridge Analytica debacle and Facebook’s use by Russian covert powers to influence the US presidential election. It cried foul, trying to make the argument that it was more platform than media company and, therefore, not subject to traditional media company regulation. In doing so, Facebook found itself beginning to face the same sort of regulatory scrutiny as traditional media companies. Back in the mid-2010s, Facebook started its transition from platform to media company, pushing away from a pure focus on users’ content and towards professional created media. Spotify’s audio problem actually has remarkably little to do with the music business, and everything to do with media company regulation. Yet, that is exactly the sort of decision Spotify is going to have to start considering before long, and if it does not, then the decision might be made for them. Rogan is one of Spotify’s biggest audio bets, and audio is Spotify’s biggest strategic bet, so it would take a lot – a real lot – to see Spotify consider pulling the plug on the controversial podcaster. But, of course, in this particular instance we are talking about a catalogue music artist versus a superstar frontline audio creator. For a company that still makes more than 95% of its revenue from music, that is a big call.

For many, this was a highly public test of whether Spotify put audio or music first, and audio won. The symbolism behind Spotify’s support of Neil Young removing his music from the platform, rather than Joe Rogan’s podcast being removed for peddling vaccine misinformation was inescapable.

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