In a now-deleted post on his website, rocker Neil Young said he wanted his music off of Spotify for “spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe this disinformation spread by them.” Young has taken issue with ’The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast. “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” he wrote. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both. With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE (‘The Joe Rogan Experience’) which is hosted exclusively on Spotify, is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence. Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy.”
A spokesperson for Spotify responded: “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. We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.”
Numerous rockers have chimed in with their thoughts on both sides of the issue. Disturbed singer David Draiman praised Spotify for removing Young’s music. “@eldsjal I applaud you and @Spotify for making the RIGHT call,” he tweeted to Spotify’s chief executive Daniel Elk. “… preserving #FreeSpeech and not capitulating to the mob. I may not agree with everything @joerogan or his guests say, but they’re entitled to have the forum to say it.”
The Offspring guitarist Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman also responded: “I wouldn’t depend on either Joe Rogan or Neil Young for medical advice. Only Neil young seems to understand why. Even Spotify doesn’t understand why. But that’s not really their job is it? The job is yours, and some of you are really falling down on it.” Sebastian Bach tweeted: “Imagine calling yourself a rocker yet siding with some dude who has a podcast over @Neilyoung … you can stick to listening to your podcast and I will stick to listening to Neil Young.”
Young sold 50% of his catalog to Hipgnosis Song Fund for a reported $150 million last year. He thanked his partners for standing with him. “My deal with Merck Mercuriadis and Hipgnosis began on Jan. 1, 2021. The company Hipgnosis now has part of my publishing, and I am very happy with their support. I want to personally thank Merck and Hipgnosis for standing with me. Losing 60 percent of worldwide streaming income by leaving Spotify is a very big deal, a costly move, but worth it for our integrity and beliefs.”
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