Spotify
Neil Young’s Partnership to Offer Free Amazon Music Shows Limits of Spotify Stand
Neil Young followed up his withdraw from Spotify last week by entering what appears to be a partnership with Amazon Music, offering his fans a free four-month trial and demonstrating the narrow scope of his activist stand. The legendary songwriter had given the Big Green Circle an ultimatum — stop platforming Joe Rogan’s COVID-19 misinformation, or he’d take his business elsewhere. Spotify chose Rogan; no surprise, considering they had reportedly invested more than $100 million to make his podcast Spotify exclusive. But the decision sparked a chain reaction that saw #CancelSpotify trend on Twitter, as other icons such as Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren of Crazy Horse and the E Street Band pulled their own music in solidarity with Young. Spotify lost $4 billion in market value in l...
Joe Rogan Acknowledges Criticism Which Led to Neil Young’s Spotify Boycott: ‘If I P—ed You Off, I’m Sorry’
Joe Rogan offered a mea culpa as a string of artists pull their music from Spotify in protest to concerns about vaccine misinformation being spread via his popular podcast. Last week, Neil Young announced he would yank his catalog from the streaming platform, citing Spotify’s failure to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform with respect to comments made on the Joe Rogan Experience. Fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell followed suit, as did Bruce Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren, who will both be removing music in solidarity. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Now, in a clip posted to Instagram, Rogan addresses for the first time “some of the controversy that’s been going on over the past few days.” Speaking for ten minutes, Ro...
Spotify to Add Content Advisory to Podcast Episodes That Include COVID-19 Discussions
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek on Sunday (Jan. 30) revealed updated platform rules and a new approach to dealing with COVID-19 information, including adding a dedicated content advisory to podcast episodes that contain discussions about the virus. A statement, posted to Spotify’s website, began by noting that the audio service was created “to enable the work of creators around the world to be heard and enjoyed by listeners around the world. To our very core, we believe that listening is everything.” The tech giant clarified that users have had questions over the last few days about policies “and the lines we have drawn between what is and isn’t acceptable.” While the statement did not reference any specific instances, it comes in the wake of musician Neil Young deciding to remove his...
Spotify Adds “Content Advisory” on COVID-19 Content in Wake of Neil Young Boycott
Spotify has announced that it will begin adding a “content advisory” to all podcasts that include information about COVID-19, following the company’s decision to continue streaming The Joe Rogan Experience despite a boycott from Neil Young. In a new open letter issued on Sunday (January 30th), CEO Daniel Ek also revealed that Spotify is making the company’s “platform rules” public for all to see. As previously reported, Young called out Spotify for presenting Rogan’s podcast, which has been criticized for disseminating questionable information about COVID-19 and its vaccines. The legendary rocker issued an ultimatum to the company to either remove his music or the podcast. As he put it, “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.” Spotify promptly removed Young’s music, stating, “We want all ...
Spotify to Add ‘Content Advisory’ Label to All Podcasts Discussing COVID
After a tumultuous week that saw Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Nils Lofgren exit the platform, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has responded. In an open letter posted on the company’s website, Ek outlined a new policy regarding podcasts that discuss COVID. “Based on the feedback over the last several weeks, it’s become clear to me that we have an obligation to do more to provide balance and access to widely-accepted information from the medical and scientific communities guiding us through this unprecedented time,” Ek wrote. “These issues are incredibly complex. We’ve heard you – especially those from the medical and scientific communities.” The big change? Spotify is adding “a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19.” That label will serve as “a resource t...
Nils Lofgren (Crazy Horse, E Street Band) Removes Music from Spotify
Nils Lofgren, a member of Neil Young & Crazy Horse and Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, is the third high-profile artist to pull his music from Spotify in protest of the platform’s spread of COVID disinformation. “A few days ago, my wife Amy and I became aware of Neil and Daryl [Hannah] standing with hundreds of health care professionals, scientists, doctors and nurses in calling out Spotify for promoting lies and misinformation that are hurting and killing people,” Lofgren wrote in a statement posted to the Neil Young Archives. “When these heroic women and men, who’ve spent their lives healing and saving ours, cry out for help you don’t turn your back on them for money and power. You listen and stand with them.” “As I write this letter, we’ve now gotten the last 27 years of my music...
E Street Band Member Nils Lofgren Pulls Music From Spotify, Encourages All Musicians to ‘Cut Ties’ With Service
Nils Lofgren, a longtime guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, is among the musicians to pull music from Spotify over concerns about COVID-19 misinformation being spread on the streaming platform. He follows Neil Young, who announced Wednesday (Jan. 26) that he would remove his catalogue in protest of COVID vaccine misinformation being spread on Joe Rogan’s podcast, and Joni Mitchell, who followed in solidarity soon after. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Both musicians referred to an open letter sent to Spotify from 270 professionals in the scientific and medical communities, calling on the streaming service to address misinformation distributed on the platform. In a statement shared to the Neil Young Archives on Saturday, Lofgren shared: “A few days ago, my wife and ...
Apple Music Shows ‘Love’ for Joni Mitchell Too After She Asks Spotify to Remove Her Music
Following Neil Young and Joni Mitchell‘s requests to pull their music from Spotify, the streaming platform’s No. 1 competitor, Apple Music, is promoting the availability of both artists’ catalogs on its own platform — with a wink. On Thursday (Jan. 27), Apple Music first highlighted Young’s catalog under the editorial header “We Love Neil,” displayed prominently for users browsing for music on its platform. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news By Saturday, a “We Love Joni Too” header highlighting selections from Mitchell’s catalog was added directly below the Young header. Both phrases seem to be in response to the artists’ requests that Spotify purge their catalogs from its platform, due to COVID-19 vaccine misinformation spread by Spotify’s popula...
Joni Mitchell Pulling Music from Spotify in Solidarity With Neil Young
Joni Mitchell is joining her old friend and contemporary Neil Young in having her legendary music catalog pulled from Spotify over concerns about vaccine misinformation being spread on the platform’s popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast. In a brief note posted to her official website on Friday, the singer-songwriter wrote, “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Mitchell’s announcement comes just two days after Spotify confirmed it would be granting Young’s request to have his music removed from the platform. Young made the ...
Neil Young’s Battle with Polio May Have Colored His Stand Against COVID Misinformation
Neil Young has taken a stand against Spotify and Joe Rogan over COVID-19 falsehoods, following through on his ultimatum to leave the streaming giant if it continued to platform The Joe Rogan Experience. This will come as no surprise to longtime fans; Young has long been a proponent of vaccination, going back to his battle with polio when he was about five years old. According to his 2012 memoir Waging Heavy Peace, the “Harvest Moon” singer was diagnosed with polio in 1951 and spent time in Toronto’s Sick Children’s Hospital as he battled the life-threatening disease. He ultimately recovered, though the disease left him with a slight limp. The polio vaccine was first widely disseminated in 1955, and Young was one of the beneficiaries. As he recently wrote on his website,...
Joni Mitchell Removes Music from Spotify: “I Stand in Solidarity with Neil Young”
Joni Mitchell has followed Neil Young’s lead and removed her music from Spotify. “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify,” Mitchell said in a brief note posted to her website on Friday. “Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.” On Wednesday, at Young’s request, Spotify removed his music from its catalog. Days earlier, the singer-songwriter issued an open letter to his management and record label demanding that his music be taken down from Spotify due to the streaming service’s spread of “fake information about vaccines.” Young specifically took issue with Spotify’s promotion of the Joe Rogan Experience, which has become a breeding ground for ...
#CancelSpotify Trends on Twitter Following Neil Young Spat
Spotify’s decision to remove Neil Young’s catalog from the platform in order to keep peddling COVID misinformation via podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience has sparked quite a lot of online discourse about free speech, streaming, and the best way to support artists. The hashtag “#CancelSpotify” trended among Young fans on Twitter Thursday evening (January 27th), and other artists and streaming platforms joined the conversation as well. Apple Music, TIDAL, Deezer, and Qobuz made sure to remind fans that they still offered Young’s music, while SiriusXM relaunched Neil Young Radio. “When you have an opportunity to present an iconic artist still at the height of his creativity, you don’t hesitate to do it, again,” Steve Blatter, SiriusXM senior vice president and general manager of musi...
