Spotify’s sparse spending of $100 million equity fund draws concern

news: Spotifyof $100M Creator Equity Fund Designed to support music and content projects from underrepresented communities. bloomberg report.

• The fund was set up last year in response to a wave of criticism against the platform’s top podcasters Joe Rogan After a video of him making racial slurs went viral online. Logan was also widely criticized for spreading disinformation about his COVID-19 vaccine.

Start slow: The Creator Equity Fund was announced with the goal of creating and licensing content from underrepresented and minority groups. Although there have been some major investments, much of the money remains unused.

• Bloomberg reports that union workers at Spotify Percast The network noted sparse spending on another fund with similar intentions. Workers told management earlier this year that of the $100,000 allocated each year to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts, the company “authorized spending just $5,000” in the past year. the outlet reported.
• It’s not that Spotify doesn’t focus on creators. Many of our major product launches and acquisitions over the last year have aimed to reduce the barriers to creating and publishing content on Spotify. this month We released a new tool for creators.
• The Creator Equity Fund differs from past Creator Payment Funds on platforms such as: tick tock again Youtubeis another example of opaque payment and investment policies that have forced large portions of such funds to be abandoned in favor of a revenue-sharing model.
• Spotify isn’t the only company that seems to be neglecting its commitment to diversity.Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Initiatives and Hiring suffered severe cuts That’s because companies cut costs in a softening economy.

Our view: Spotify may want to cut back on spending as interest rates rise, but it will have to use the $100 million it already seems set aside for various content. Spotify needs to provide long-term support to the projects it invests in, not just being used. The saturation of the podcast market makes it difficult for new shows to find an audience.