Hey Mike – Last year, you said that Joe Rogan could not be cancelled. What say you now? With CNN calling for other artists and musicians to join Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, do you think Spotify will cave?
Mark McAllister
Hi Mark
I still think Rogan is too big to cancel, at least in terms of being made irrelevant. His audience is large, loyal, and barring some actual scandal – like the kind that would compromise his authenticity – I suspect most of them would follow him wherever he went. As far as CNN encouraging solidarity around Young and Mitchell, that’s not surprising. In the coming days (or hours,) I expect someone at Fox will encourage those artists who cherish the first amendment to make their feelings known as well. We’ll see.
Personally, I don’t know Joe Rogan, but I have listened to a lot of his episodes. Obviously, I don’t agree with everything he says, but many of his guests interest me a great deal – including the two doctors whose opinions have upset Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Dr. Peter McCullough is a cardiologist who happens to be the most published physician in his field in history. Dr. Robert Malone owns nine patents on the creation of MRNA-vaccine technology. Both doctors are vocally skeptical of the vaccines and cite serious concerns with the profit motives of Big Pharma.
The fact that Rogan talked with two highly credentialed doctors for over three hours at a time is exceedingly valuable to promoting an open discourse. Kind of like getting a second opinion, which until now, everyone seemed to applaud. No one in the mainstream media or on any of the cable channels has conducted an interview like this, and the fact that he’s also featured similar conversations with opposing doctors like Michael Osterholm and Sanjay Gupta should discount any accusation of political bias.
As for Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, obviously, both are free to do whatever they want with their music. But it’s disappointing to learn that two of my favorite song writers believe fans of Joe Rogan are incapable of deciding for themselves what “misinformation” is. As Rogan points out in this video, misinformation has way of becoming truth – often overnight. https://bit.ly/3J0W24d Scientists now know for a fact that vaccines don’t prevent infection, and cloth masks do nothing to slow the spread. Eight months ago, saying either of those things on Twitter or Facebook would get you banned. Today, it’s routinely reported on CNN as fact. And earlier today, a truly alarming report was issued by Johns Hopkins. I encourage you all to read it. https://bit.ly/3uj5n3a The takeaway is simple – the lockdowns didn’t work. Consider that for a moment. Tony Fauci insisted over and over that “lockdowns saved millions of lives.” But now – according to one of the most trusted sources of medical information on earth – we’re told the lockdowns didn’t work.
I can’t begin to tell you how much grief I took on this page last year, when I simply posed the question, “What if the cure is worse than the disease?” It was an honest question, brought about by dire estimates from various aid organizations that predicted millions of people around the world were likely to die from starvation as a result of COVID-related lockdowns. People here were very upset. They told me it was “irresponsible” and “dangerous” to suggest such a thing on a platform with six million people. So…who exactly is spreading “misinformation.” Me? Joe Rogan? The scientists and doctors at Johns Hopkins? Or our own public health officials? Why would anyone in a climate where respected doctors and legitimate scientists have differing opinions on matters of such grave importance object to a podcast that welcomes a wide variety of medical opinions? Why would rock stars – the very people who rely upon the right to express themselves freely – try to silence medical experts they don’t agree with? Why are they so afraid of a second opinion?
As many of you know, I’m fully vaccinated, recently infected, but still persuaded that the COVID vaccines are worth taking. But I don’t believe what I believe because Joe Rogan or Neil Young told me it was true. I believe it because I listened to a lot of qualified doctors with a lot of differing opinions and made the most logical decision I could, during a very confusing time when the science was simply not settled. And I was able to do that, in part anyway, because of Spotify and Joe Rogan.
But to your question, Mark. Even if Rogan is too big to be canceled, he’s not too big to be fired. Apparently, Nils Lofgren, Graham Nash, and India Arie have joined Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in their calls rein in Rogan or shut him down altogether. That’s probably not enough to end the biggest podcast in the world. But what will Spotify do if Beyonce or Taylor Swift join them? What if Alicia Keyes hops on board, and then Bruno Mars, and The Rolling Stones? Fact is, Spotify can survive without Joe Rogan. But what is a music streaming service without music?
Time will tell, I suppose.
Or maybe the musicians will?
Either way, keep on rockin’ in the free world!