Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote a memo to staff on Sunday in regards to the controversy surrounding podcaster Joe Rogan, who eliminated over 100 episodes of his present over the weekend that reportedly contained racial slurs. And frankly the Grammy Awards ought to think about giving out a trophy for this type of company fence-sitting.

Ek concurrently argued Rogan shouldn’t be “canceled” for his use of the n-word and that The Joe Rogan Experience doesn’t signify the values of Spotify, in line with the memo, first obtained by Peter Kafka of Recode Media.

“There are no words I can say to adequately convey how deeply sorry I am for the way The Joe Rogan Experience controversy continues to impact each of you,” Ek wrote in his memo that was addressed to the “Spotify Team.”

“Not only are some of Joe Rogan’s comments incredibly hurtful—I want to make clear that they do not represent the values of this company. I know this situation leaves many of you feeling drained, frustrated and unheard,” Ek continued.

While Ek’s memo opened by saying Joe Rogan’s present doesn’t signify the values of Spotify, the CEO needed to acknowledge simply how dangerous issues have gotten throughout this newest scandal, first kicked off by Neil Young’s insistence that his music be pulled from the service as a result of Rogan has promoted misinformation about covid-19 vaccines.

“I think it’s important you’re aware that we’ve had conversations with Joe and his team about some of the content in his show, including his history of using some racially insensitive language. Following these discussions and his own reflections, he chose to remove a number of episodes from Spotify. He also issued his own apology over the weekend,” Ek continued.

Rogan did problem an apology, however “racially insensitive language” definitely seems like an understatement. Rogan has repeatedly used the n-word in episodes and in contrast Black folks to monkeys after he attended a screening of Planet of the Apes.

“While I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more. And I want to make one point very clear—I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer. We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope. Looking at the issue more broadly, it’s critical thinking and open debate that powers real and necessary progress,” Ek wrote.

“Another criticism that I continue to hear from many of you is that it’s not just about The Joe Rogan Experience on Spotify; it comes down to our direct relationship with him. In last week’s Town Hall, I outlined to you that we are not the publisher of JRE. But perception due to our exclusive license implies otherwise. So I’ve been wrestling with how this perception squares with our values,” Ek continued.

And that is the place issues get actually complicated. Rogan signed a $100 million take care of Spotify, which is the unique house of his podcast. The Joe Rogan Experience was beforehand accessible at no cost however Spotify paid to get this content material and publishes it. Any affordable particular person would describe Spotify because the writer of his podcast. And but Ek insists Spotify isn’t Rogan’s writer.

But Ek stated he’s taking concrete steps to make his firm higher. Or at the least that’s how he’s positioning it.

“If we believe in having an open platform as a core value of the company, then we must also believe in elevating all types of creators, including those from underrepresented communities and a diversity of backgrounds. We’ve been doing a great deal of work in this area already but I think we can do even more. So I am committing to an incremental investment of $100 million for the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalized groups,” Ek wrote.

“This will dramatically increase our efforts in these areas. While some might want us to pursue a different path, I believe that more speech on more issues can be highly effective in improving the status quo and enhancing the conversation altogether.”

While Ek is perhaps counseled for investing $100 million in marginalized teams, do not forget that Spotify spent $100 million on only one man—the man that’s inflicting all of them this bother within the first place.

“I deeply regret that you are carrying so much of this burden. I also want to be transparent in setting the expectation that in order to achieve our goal of becoming the global audio platform, these kinds of disputes will be inevitable. For me, I come back to centering on our mission of unlocking the potential of human creativity and enabling more than a billion people to enjoy the work of what we think will be more than 50 million creators. That mission makes these clashes worth the effort,” Ek continued.

It’s undoubtedly attention-grabbing that Ek believes this type of scandal was “inevitable,” on condition that he paid $100 million to have this very particular particular person host a podcast on his platform.

“I’ve told you several times over the last week, but I think it’s critical we listen carefully to one another and consider how we can and should do better. I’ve spent this time having lots of conversations with people inside and outside of Spotify—some have been supportive while others have been incredibly hard, but all of them have made me think,” Ek continued.

Ek went on to say the corporate is consulting with exterior “experts,” who weren’t named, and stated he needs to, “further balance creator expression with user safety.”

“Your passion for this company and our mission has made a difference in the lives of so many listeners and creators around the world. I hope you won’t lose sight of that. It’s that ability to focus and improve Spotify even on some of our toughest days that has helped us build the platform we have. We have a clear opportunity to learn and grow together from this challenge and I am ready to meet it head on,” Ek wrote.

“I know it is difficult to have these conversations play out so publicly, and I continue to encourage you to reach out to your leaders, your HR partners or me directly if you need support or resources for yourself or your team.”