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Neil Young’s songs will no longer be available on Spotify. For what it’s worth, he requested it.
The firm claims it will respect Young’s request one day after the singer stated in a now-deleted article on his official website that he no longer wants his music on the platform due to its ties with polarising podcast presenter Joe Rogan’s remarks regarding Covid-19 immunizations.
“We want Spotify users to have access to all of the world’s music and audio material. With that comes a tremendous deal of responsibility in balancing both listener safety and artist freedom “In a statement, a Spotify spokeswoman informed The Washington Post.
“We have stringent content standards in place, and since the start of the epidemic, we have eliminated over 20,000 podcast episodes linked to covid-19. We regret Neil’s choice to withdraw his music from Spotify and look forward to welcoming him back soon.”
In his statement, Young requested that his managers and record label remove his songs from Spotify, claiming that the music and podcast site is “promoting misleading information regarding vaccinations – perhaps causing death to people who accept this misinformation propagated by them.” (The text of the post was first reported by Rolling Stone.)
“I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their site,” the 76-year-old stated in a post published on Monday, according to Rolling Stone. “They may choose between Rogan and Young. Neither.”
Rogan has made several incorrect and erroneous assertions about vaccinations and Covid-19 on his show. Earlier this month, a group of over 250 academics, physicians, and nurses sent an open letter to Spotify, denouncing the streaming service for allowing Rogan to broadcast and urging Spotify to alert its listeners against disinformation.
According to Variety, “The Joe Rogan Experience” was Spotify’s most popular podcast internationally in 2021. When Rogan negotiated a multi-year exclusive license deal with Spotify in 2020, it became a Spotify exclusive.
