Spotify
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...
Disturbed’s David Draiman Applauds Spotify for “Making the Right Call” in Neil Young vs. Joe Rogan Decision
After receiving an ultimatum from rock legend Neil Young to choose between his music and Joe Rogan’s podcast, Spotify decided to keep streaming The Joe Rogan Experience and remove the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s music. Now, Disturbed singer David Draiman has weighed in on the decision, applauding Spotify for “making the right call.” As previously reported, Young issued an open letter deriding Rogan for spreading false COVID information, asking Spotify to remove his music because he didn’t want to be associated with the same streaming service that profits from Rogan’s podcast. “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them,” wrote Young. “Please act on this immedi...
Spotify Sides with Joe Rogan Over Neil Young, Removes His Music
Spotify has begun the process of removing Neil Young’s music from its catalog. The move was done at the singer-songwriter’s request, who cited his disgust over the proliferation of “fake information about vaccines” on the streaming platform. Young specifically took issue with Spotify’s promotion of the Joe Rogan Experience, which has become a breeding ground for false COVID information. “I want all my music off their platform. They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” Young wrote in an open letter sent to his management and record label on Monday. In a statement acknowledging Young’s request, a Spotify representative said, “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...
Neil Young Wants His Music Off Spotify Over Joe Rogan Vaccine Misinformation
Neil Young wants his music pulled from Spotify, citing the spread of vaccine misinformation on the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast as the cause. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” Young wrote in an open letter to his management team and record label posted to his Neil Young Archives website, according to Rolling Stone. The post has since been removed. “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform.” Explore Explore Neil Young See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Rogan, who signed a $100 million deal in May 2020 giving Spotify exclusive rights to — but not ownership of — his hugely popular podcast, has come under fire for spreading misinformation on his show about COVID-19 and vaccines. In addit...
