Neil Young will return to Spotify
Neil Young will return his music to Spotify, two years after withdrawing it in protest over podcast host Joe Rogan's shows about COVID-19, the musician announced on his website Tuesday.
Without naming Rogan, Young wrote: “My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify.”
Rogan previously had an exclusive deal with Spotify, which has since been renewed to allow wider distribution of his show.
In January 2022, Young drew wide attention by accusing Spotify of “spreading fake information about vaccines” through Rogan's show, and he gave the platform an ultimatum: “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
Rogan has become one of the most popular and influential figures in podcasting with his show “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which features long, freewheeling interviews with guests like Elon Musk, Ye, scientists and fellow comedians.
Days before Young's public letter, a group of doctors, scientists and public health officials asked Spotify to crack down on COVID-19 misinformation, pointing to an episode of Rogan's show that featured Dr. Robert Malone, a virus expert and vaccine skeptic who promoted a theory that millions of people had been “hypnotized” about the coronavirus.
Following Young's protest, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell also removed her music from Spotify, and R&B singer India.Arie circulated clips showing Rogan using a racial slur repeatedly on the show. Rogan apologized for his use of the word, and Spotify quietly removed dozens of episodes of his show. Rogan also said he was willing to have “more experts with differing opinions right after I have the controversial ones.”
In his statement Tuesday, Young didn't give a timeline for when his music would return to Spotify, and a representative of Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment.