Spotify is reporting a successful first quarter despite controversies surrounding star podcaster Joe Rogan and the company’s decision to pull the platform from Russia this month.

The report shows that its premium subscribers list rose by 2 million people since the start of 2022, reaching 182 million users. The amount of monthly active users topped 422 million, gaining 16 million since December.

The company’s CEO and Founder Daniel Ek tweeted this morning “We delivered another strong quarter building on momentum from 2021. Grateful for the tireless work of the @Spotify team on behalf of creators and listeners around the world.”

We delivered another strong quarter building on momentum from 2021. Grateful for the tireless work of the @Spotify team on behalf of creators and listeners around the world https://t.co/jnNPFgm9YK pic.twitter.com/ddq1NiJf5n

— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) April 27, 2022

This comes months after powerhouse artists like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell decided to pull their music from the platform over concerns that Joe Rogan, whose podcast is exclusive to the network, was spreading medical misinformation regarding Covid on his show.

The streaming service responded to calls to censor Rogan by opting to provide content advisory warnings to any show discussing Covid.

At the beginning of March, Spotify also decided to officially suspend its premium services in Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine. Newsweek reported that, at the time, Spotify was expecting to lose over 1.5 million subscribers from Russia alone.

The company later decided to suspend all work and access to their platform in the region at the start of April.

The post Spotify Subscribers Jump to Record High Despite Russia Ban and Rogan Controversy first appeared on Mediaite.

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/UBOJlsc