Neil Young’s songs will no longer be available on Spotify after the Canadian-American singer lambasted the platform for spreading fake information about COVID-19 vaccines.
The musician had previously mentioned via his official website (now deleted) that he did not want his music on Spotify for carrying controversial comments may be Joe Rogan on COVID-19 vaccinations. Spotify obliged.
"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," an official spokesperson for the platform said.
"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," the spokesperson added.
This came after Young wanted his songs out of Spotify, adding that it was either him or Rogan. The move indicates that they chose to keep Rogan over Young.
"I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform," the 76-year-old said in a post via Rolling Stone. "They can have Rogan or Young. Not both."
Rogan has been under the radar for his usually false and inaccurate claims about the COVID-19 vaccines as well as the virus itself on “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Scientists, doctors and nurses penned an open letter to Spotify condemning the streamer for platforming Rogan and calling on Spotify to warn its listeners about misinformation.
Although it was not stated, one reason to keep Rogan was that it was the most popular podcast in 2021. It is a Spotify exclusive after Rogan signed a multi-year exclusive licensing deal with the streaming service.
Young and his group have yet to comment on the decision and move of Spotify.
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