Rock icon Neil Young wants his music removed from Spotify, citing the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on the platform – and calling out popular podcaster Joe Rogan in particular.
In an open letter to his management and his record label, first reported by Rolling Stone on Monday, Young said that Spotify Technology SA SPOT,
may have “Rogan or Young”. Not both.”
“I am doing this because Spotify is spreading false information about vaccines – potentially causing the death of those who believe the misinformation is being spread by them,” Young wrote. “Please act immediately today and let me know the timing.”
Rogan’s podcast was Spotify’s most popular worldwide in 2021, despite criticism that it spreads COVID misinformation and conspiracy theories, and gives far-right figures a platform.
Last month, a group of 270 prominent figures in the medical and scientific community slammed Rogan’s show and called on Spotify to implement a misinformation policy.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Rogan has repeatedly aired misleading and false claims on his podcast, causing distrust in science and medicine,” they wrote in an open letter. “It’s not just a scientific or medical concern; it’s a sociological problem of devastating proportions and Spotify is responsible for allowing this activity to thrive on its platform.
Young pulled his music from Spotify once before, in 2015, when he complained about the streaming music service’s sound quality and switched to Tidal. He returned his catalog to Spotify, Apple AAPL,
Music and other services in 2016.
Spotify shares are down 17% so far in January and have fallen 42% over the past 12 months.
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