Spotify has begun to remove the music of Neil Young after the Canadian issued an ultimatum to the streaming platform to either remove his music or remove Joe Rogan's podcast.
In addition to being arguably the voice of the UFC, Rogan has become one of the most influential personalities in the world via his The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The popularity of the podcast has also been met with its fair share of critics, including a series of alleged medical professionals who accused Rogan of spreading misinformation regarding vaccines.
In a since-deleted letter to his manager, Young threatened to pull his music from Spotify if the streaming platform doesn't take action against Rogan.
"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," Young said. "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. They can have Rogan or Young. Not both." (h/t The Star)
Rogan signed a nine-figure deal with Spotify back in 2020. Coincidentally, Rogan's partnership with the streaming service began right as the COVID-19 global pandemic began to run rampant across the world.
Spotify Accomodates Neil Young's Request For Removal
Wednesday, Spotify issued the following response to Young in a statement to 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.
Young also issued a statement Wednesday where he thanked Warner Brothers and his fans for supporting him through this decision. He also encouraged other musicians to make a stand and take part in a mass exit of the streaming platform in protest of Rogan's alleged COVID-19 misinformation that he called "deadly."
Neil Young is a member of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a multi-time Grammy Award winner, and was considered one of Rolling Stone magazine's top 100 greatest music artists of all time.
What are your thoughts on the Neil Young vs. Joe Rogan split?
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