Could this be why Spotify didn’t remove Joe Rogan from its platform? (Spoiler Alert: ElonRogan + $1 Billion)

Joe Rogan is the world’s most popular podcaster with an estimated 11 million listeners per episode. He made name for himself discussing controversial topics and interviewing popular guests including the former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson, and the world’s most beloved CEO, Elon Musk. The Joe Rogan Experience podcast is currently hosted on the Spotify platform.

In January, Joe Rogan invited mRNA pioneer, Dr. Robert Malone, onto his show after Twitter booted him for spreading misinformation about the mRNA vaccine on its social platform. On December 29, 2021, Twitter permanently suspended Dr. Malone for alleged ”misinformation” after he said in a tweet that “Pfizer mRNA vaccine does more harm than good.”

During the show, Dr. Malone presented Pfizer’s vaccine trial data that shows an increased risk of illness and death for the vaccinated. That was what got Joe Rogan in trouble and led the so-called 270 science and health professionals to ask Spotify to remove him and cancel his podcast show.

Then about two weeks ago, rocker Neil Young posted a letter on his website demanding that his music be removed from Spotify in response to “fake information about vaccines” on the platform. Young singled out Rogan because he had allowed Dr. Malone to appear on his podcast show. Since then, the media and social media sites gave extra coverage to Young, hoping that that would bring to Rogan’s podcast.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Neil Young asked Spotify to choose between him and Rogan saying “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.” To the surprise of the media and many Rogan critics, Spotify later pulled Neil Young’s music following Joe Rogan’s dispute. Young was later joined by Joni Mitchell who also demanded that Rogan be removed from Spotify.

Then after about a week of silence, Spotify finally responded on Sunday and explained its decision to let Joe Rogan remain on its platform. In a news release, Spotify said Rogan did not violate any of its policies and promised to add “content advisory” warnings to future shows.

“You’ve had a lot of questions over the last few days about our platform policies and the lines we have drawn between what is acceptable and what is not,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote in a news release. “We have had rules in place for many years but admittedly, we haven’t been transparent around the policies that guide our content more broadly.”

However, some on social media are now speculating that the reason Spotify didn’t fire Rogan is Elon Musk. One of the theories floated on Twitter is the idea of Elon Musk offering $50 million a year for 20 years to leave Spotify and start a new venture.

In a post on Twitter, Patrick Bet-David, an Iranian-born American and the #1 WSJ Best Seller of “Your Next Five Moves” asked:

“Hey@elonmusk, here’s an idea for you to consider. What if you offered Joe Rogan $50m a year for 20 years ($1 billion total) to leave Spotify and start a new venture together? RT if you’d like to see this happen. #MuskRoganInc”

Hey @elonmusk, here’s an idea for you to consider.

What if you offered Joe Rogan $50m a year for 20 years ($1 billion total) to leave Spotify and start a new venture together?

RT if you’d like to see this happen. #MuskRoganInc pic.twitter.com/6iNM6rfAdi

— Patrick Bet-David (@patrickbetdavid) February 4, 2022

Sounds like a plausible idea. The only problem is theory has just one hole: How relevant is Rogan over the next 20 years? The other problem is the proverbial “putting all your eggs in one basket” problem. However, considering that Musk is a visionary entrepreneur who loves to make bold moves, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if Musk offers Rogan the opportunity.

In closing, could this be why Spotify decided to keep Joe Rogan? We might never know but we can’t rule anything out at this point.