"Ask and you shall receive" has reportedly been Spotify's reaction to music icon Neil Young's recent request. Yesterday (January 25), we reported on Young writing a letter to his team demanding that his extensive, decades-long catalog be removed from Spotify. The musician was angry about Joe Rogan's podcast being allowed to spread alleged misinformation about COVID and the vaccines.
“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,” he reportedly wrote. “Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule...I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” he continued. “They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both.”
Spotify made its choice and opted for Rogan. They issued this statement via The Hollywood Reporter:
“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. We have detailed content policies in place and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID since the start of the pandemic. We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon."
Reactions have been split, as Rogan's diehard supporters take this as a victory against naysayers, while others have praised Young for not choosing his career over what he stands for.
