Singer/songwriter Neil Young’s ultimatum to Spotify backfired after he posted an open letter to the streaming service asking them to get rid of Joe Rogan for promoting “fake information about vaccines.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Spotify is in the process of removing Neil Young’s catalog of music. Young reportedly posted the letter on his website on Jan. 24.
He then published a follow-up letter Wednesday, expressing regret that the catalog was being removed while doubling down saying he “could not continue to support Spotify’s life-threatening misinformation to the music-loving public.”
Spotify confirmed the removal of Young’s catalog to the website.
“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,” a spokesperson said. “We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify but hope to welcome him back soon.”
Young said that Spotify represented 60 percent of his streaming revenue globally, which amounted to “a huge loss for [his] record company to absorb.
Rogan signed a massive deal with Spotify to host an exclusive podcast last year. “The Joe Rogan Experience” has drawn sharp criticism from vaccine and mask advocates.
Last month, a group of 270 doctors and other medical professionals wrote a letter calling on Spotify to “mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform.”
