The controversy at Spotify involving Joe Rogan disseminating alleged COVID misinformation was addressed this week by CEO Daniel Ek. 

Ek hosted a town hall event where he spoke to employees, some of whom reportedly pressed Ek on why the company continues to allow Rogan to host shows that indulge in anti-vaccine/mandate rhetoric. 

"If we want even a shot at achieving our bold ambitions, it will mean having content on Spotify that many of us may not be proud to be associated with," he said. "Not anything goes, but there will be opinions, ideas, and beliefs that we disagree with strongly and even makes us angry or sad."

Ek also addressed investors. He said the company saw a double-digit increase in the number of monthly active users that listened to a podcast during Q4 compared to the prior quarter.

This week, Spotify also revealed that it was going to start placing advisory labels on podcasts that contained content related to the pandemic. Ek shouldered the blame for not acting on this type of thing, sooner. 

"We should have done it earlier, and that's on me," he said. "We don't change our policies based on one creator nor do we change it based on any media cycle," Ek said. "And while Joe has a massive audience, he's actually the No. 1 podcast in more than 90 markets, he also has to abide by those policies."

Elk said as far as the Rogan-COVID misinformation controversy that has ensnared the company, it's too early to tell whether this past week's event will have an impact on subscribers.  

"It's too early to know what the impact will be," Ek said. "Usually, when we've had controversies in the past, those are measured in months and not days."