Spotify to remove Neil Young music from platform after singer demanded they cancel Joe Rogan
Spotify says it will now take left-wing rocker Neil Young’s music off its platform after the 76 year old musician demanded they choose between him and Joe Rogan.
The reported move to take down Young’s once popular music comes just days after Young demanded via open letter that Spotify remove his music or blacklist Joe Rogan.
Joe Rogan currently has the most popular podcast in the United States, Neil Young was a once prominent musician from the 70’s and 80’s.
The Wall Street Journal broke the news about Spotify’s intent to remove Young’s music from their platform, essentially picking Rogan.
Spotify released an official statement via spokesperson:
“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.”
In the open letter Young posted and subsequently removed from his site, the angry singer said he believed Spotify was allowing the spread of “fake information about vaccines.”
Young then issued an ultimatum: “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
Conservatives on Twitter mocked Young for his ultimatum and predicted the music streaming platform would pick Rogan.
Conservatives can now rejoice knowing that Spotify stood behind Rogan and his show’s right to freedom of expression and took down Young’s music at his request. It should also be noted that Rogan has the most popular podcast in the United States so Spotify’s decision likely has more to do with the financial incentives rather than making any stance on freedom of speech.
Are you surprised Spotify picked Rogan? Do you listen to the Joe Rogan Experience? Do you think Neil Young is insane? Comment your thoughts below!