Spotify pulls Neil Young’s music after ultimatum over Joe Rogan’s podcast
Spotify is removing Neil Young’s music from its platform, two days after the singer posted a since-deleted letter on his website protesting COVID-19 misinformation on the streaming service’s podcast by comedian Joe Rogan.
>> PHOTOS: Neil Young through the years
Young, 76, posted a note on his website Wednesday, calling Spotify “a very damaging force via its public misinformation and lies about Covid.”
The singer thanked his label, Warner Bros. Reprise Records, for standing by his decision.
“Spotify represents 60% of the streaming of my music to listeners around the world, almost every record I have ever released is available — my life’s music — a huge loss for my record company to absorb,” Young wrote on his website. “Yet my friends at Warner Brothers Reprise stood with me, recognizing the threat the COVID misinformation on Spotify posed to the world — particularly for our young people who think everything they hear on Spotify is true. Unfortunately, it is not.”
Young’s most popular songs as a solo artist, like “Heart of Gold,” “Harvest Moon,” “Like a Hurricane” and “Old Man,” have received extensive airtime on the radio for decades and have attracted millions of streams on Spotify, The New York Times reported.
Before the removal, Young had 2.4 million followers and more than 6 six million monthly listeners on Spotify, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Young’s criticism of Rogan, Spotify’s most popular podcast host, came after a group of scientists, professors and public health experts asked Spotify to remove a Dec. 31, 2021 episode of Rogan’s show, according to the newspaper. That episode, featuring Dr. Robert Malone, an infectious-disease expert, promoted “several falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines,” according to the group’s public letter, which was issued on Jan. 10.
>> Neil Young to Spotify: Get rid of Joe Rogan’s podcast or I pull my music
“We want all the world’s music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators,” a Spotify spokesman told the Times and The Washington Post in a statement. “We have detailed content policies in place and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.”
Rogan signed an exclusive podcast deal with Spotify in 2020 that has been reported to be worth $100 million, the Times reported.
“We want creators to create,” Daniel Ek, the chief executive and co-founder of Spotify, told The Financial Times at the time. “It’s what they do best. We’re not looking to play a role in what they should say.”
In a follow-up letter written after his Monday announcement, Young thanked Merck Mercuriadis and his company, Hipgnosis Songs, which bought a 50% stake in Young’s publishing rights in 2021, Rolling Stone reported. The singer also called Ek a friend, adding he was disappointed with “the steps he has taken because it stopped my music from being shared on his Spotify platform.”
A representative or Mercuriadis did not reply to Rolling Stone’s request for comment, but Hipgnosis Studios posted a screenshot of Young’s open letter on Instagram on Tuesday with the message, “Go off Neil” and five clapping emojis.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZKMRt_FCiU/
Representatives for Young have not yet responded to the Post’s request for comment. Young’s manager, Frank Gironda, told the Daily Beast that the issue was “something that’s really important to Neil. He’s very upset about this disinformation.”
1985: Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, playing a Gibson Les Paul guitar, smiles while performing during the Live Aid concert for famine relief at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985.
1986: Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, left, Neil Young, center, and Chuck Berry perform together at the finale of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Awards in New York City on Jan. 24, 1986.
1986: Neil Young, John Cougar Mellencamp and Willie Nelson are among the country and rock superstars featured on The Best of Farm Aid, an American Event, on Feb 8, 1986.
1995: Neil Young waves from the podium as presenter Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam applauds in the background during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 10th annual induction ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York on Thursday January 12, 1995.
1999: Musicians Stephen Still (left), Neil Young, Graham Nash (sitting) and David Crosby pose for a photo at the Pierre Hotel on Oct. 13, 1999, in New York City.
2006: Neil Young speaks before the premiere of the film "Neil Young: Heart of Gold" at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Monday, Jan. 23, 2006.
2009: Willie Nelson and Neil Young attends the press conference for Farm Aid 2009 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on October 4, 2009, in St. Louis.
2010: MusiCares Person of the Year Neil Young, Pegi Young and musician Elton John attend the 2010 MusiCares Person of the Year Tribute to Neil Young at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 29, 2010, in Los Angeles.
2011: Inductee Tom Waits and Neil Young perform onstage at the 26th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria on March 14, 2011, in New York City.
2012: Musicians Billy Talbot, Frank Sampedro and Neil Young of the band Crazy Horse perform onstage at the 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year Tribute to Paul McCartney held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on February 10, 2012, in Los Angeles.
2013: Singer Neil Young performs onstage at the 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year Gala Honoring Bruce Springsteen at Los Angeles Convention Center on February 8, 2013, in Los Angeles.
2014: Singer/songwriter Neil Young performs at the Dolby Theatre on March 29, 2014, in Los Angeles.
2015: Singer Neil Young performs onstage at the 25th anniversary MusiCares 2015 Person of the Year Gala honoring Bob Dylan at the Los Angeles Convention Center on February 6, 2015, in Los Angeles.
2016: Sir Paul McCartney (left) and Neil Young perform onstage during Desert Trip at the Empire Polo Field on October 8, 2016, in Indio, California.
2017: Neil Young performs during 2017 Farm Aid on September 16, 2017, in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania.
2018: Neil Young and Chris Stills perform during the fifth annual Light up the Blues Concert an Evening of Music to Benefit Autism Speaks at Dolby Theatre on April 21, 2018, in Hollywood, California.
2019: Neil Young performs at Harvest Moon: A Gathering to benefit the Painted Turtle and the Bridge School at Painted Turtle Camp on September 14, 2019, in Lake Hughes, California.
