Parcast union members say they haven’t been told how they can use DEIA funding
(Bloomberg) — Union employees at Parcast, the podcast studio at Spotify Technology SA that specializes in true-crime programming, are calling on management to provide more clarity around an annual fund intended to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.
In a letter to management Thursday, the employees said Spotify agreed in an April 2022 union contract to give the group’s DEIA committee $100,000 annually to “guide, assist and monitor the progress of diversity, parity, and inclusion with regard to recruitment, selection, retention, mentorship, advancement and editorial coverage.”
Nearly a year later, Spotify has only approved spending of $5,000, they said, despite union members proposing projects they believed fell under the fund umbrella. Management also hasn’t provided more information around the process for using the money, they said. Per the union contract, meetings with management are to take place quarterly, but sometimes take that long to schedule.
“We are seriously questioning this company’s commitment to funding this committee, and by extension, the values it represents,” the union said.
The workers, members of the Writers Guild of America East, are demanding that Spotify management respond to the union’s quarterly meeting requests in less than two business days, and that executives provide a written document outlining what projects qualify for DEIA funding. They also want a step-by-step process for how to propose projects, how they will be approved and how the funds will be dispersed.
In addition, they’re requesting a strict schedule to keep approved projects moving forward and are calling for an end to back-channel communication, meaning all information should be shared with all committee members via email.
“We have been having active conversations with Parcast’s DEIA Committee on the fund,” Spotify said in an email. “It remains a priority to thoughtfully utilize the allocated fund in accordance with the committee’s goals. Parcast is committed to amplifying untold stories.”
In addition to the union-specific funding, Spotify announced in February 2022 a $100 million Creator Equity Fund for the licensing, development and marketing of music and audio content from people from historically marginalized groups. It announced that funding around the time that Neil Young and other artists pulled their music from the platform in protest of Joe Rogan allegedly spreading COVID-19 misinformation and a viral montage circulating that documented the star podcaster using a racial epithet. At the time, Rogan’s deal was reported to have cost Spotify $100 million, though the New York Times later reported the actual number to be double that.
In January, the company said some of that money had gone toward the creation of GLOW, a global music program aimed at amplifying LGBTQIA+ artists and creators.
(Updates with company comment in seventh paragraph.)
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