In February, artists such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell told Spotify to pull their music from the platform because of Covid comments made on Rogan’s show. Spotify CEO addresses Joe Rogan controversy (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) Stacy Revere/Getty Images/FILE LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 09: UFC commentator Joe Rogan announces the fighters during a ceremonial weigh in for UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena on Jin Las Vegas, Nevada.

So although Rogan may have caused a massive PR headache for the company, Spotify didn’t experience a mass exodus because of him - at least not from those who pay for the service. “Excluding the impact of our exit from Russia, subscriber growth exceeded expectations,” the company said.

In fact, Spotify noted that it would have done even better had it not pulled out of Russia in April following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Those numbers are roughly in line with what the company said it was expecting in terms of growth. (SPOT) saw its paid memberships increase, and the platform now has 182 million premium subscribers - up from 180 million in the previous quarter and 15% higher year over year, the company said in its first quarter earnings report Wednesday. Spotify’s paying customers apparently couldn’t care less. The comedian’s frequent and sometimes inaccurate claims about Covid-19 and vaccines on his very popular, “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast led some artists to leave the site in protest. Earlier this year, Spotify found itself embroiled in a controversy sparked by one of its most notable podcast hosts, Joe Rogan.

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