Spotify Says ‘Technical Issue’ Caused Joe Rogan Podcast, Others to Be Unavailable – CNET

Spotify Says ‘Technical Issue’ Caused Joe Rogan Podcast, Others to Be Unavailable – CNET

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Angela Lang/CNET

Spotify says a “technical issue” caused Joe Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, and some other podcasts to be briefly unavailable on the streaming service on Friday. 

“It’s a technical issue affecting a number of our shows,” said a Spotify spokesperson, adding that the issue should be resolved soon. 

People searching for the podcasts on Spotify’s website and mobile app got error messages saying “something went wrong” or “couldn’t find that podcast.” In addition to The Joe Rogan Experience, podcasts produced by The Ringer, Gimlet and Parcast were also briefly unavailable, according to Rolling Stone

See Also: Spotify’s Joe Rogan Problem: Turns Out His Deal Might Be Worth $200 Million

Spotify and Rogan have been facing backlash over COVID-19 misinformation and the host’s use of racial slurs in dozens of past episodes. The controversy has thrown Spotify into a dilemma that YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other internet giants have struggled with: balancing freedom of expression and effective moderation of the most objectionable content on their platforms. On Thursday, The New York Times reported that the company paid Rogan $200 million, double the amount previously thought, to make his podcast a Spotify exclusive.

CNET’s Joan Solsman contributed to this report. 

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