Neil Young is a committed artist who proves it once again. If he is in the news, it is not for a record release, but for the quite spectacular decision he has just taken. Neil Young withdraws his music from the Spotify listening platform, which is the world leader in music streaming.
This decision by Neil Young is far from being a small loss for Spotify. The page of this very prolific artist (he has released 43 studio albums to date) has an average of more than 6 million listeners per month and nearly 2.5 million subscribers. Add to that the bad publicity that this case is sure to cause for the Swedish platform. Neil Young had clearly shown him his determination for a few days by threatening to slam the door.
The annoying “antivax” podcast
” It’s Joe Rogan or me “, he had written to his record company. In question, there is therefore this podcast by comedian and radio host Joe Rogan, bought a fortune by Spotify, which acquired the exclusivity a little over a year ago: 100 million dollars. Entitled The Joe Rogan Experience, this one has hundreds of episodes. Its audience is reaching new heights: it is estimated at around ten million people on average for each show. And the problem is that in this podcast, he multiplies his positions hostile to the anti-Covid-19 vaccine. In particular, it promotes unconfirmed and unauthorized treatments.
In the letter sent to his record label, Neil Young is clear: “II need to let Spotify know that I want my music removed from their platform immediately. (…) They can have Rogan or Young. Not both, he wrote on January 25, 2022. The artist mentions in this same document “the dissemination of false information potentially causing the death of those who believe in it. »
Songs and values he publicly defends
Neil Young, an artist engaged on the left, is a regular at brilliant shots. He does not hesitate to publicize his struggles, even to bring them to justice. In August 2020, he filed a complaint against former President Trump’s team, which used some of his songs at campaign rallies during the presidential campaign.
Fans of the singer who are also Spotify subscribers will therefore have to bring out their CDs or vinyl records. Or subscribe to other competing platforms like Deezer and Apple Music where the music of the Canadian star obviously remains available in its entirety.
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