Posted on 01/28/2022 6:22:04 PM PST by nickcarraway
Musicians have taken sides in the ongoing discourse surrounding Neil Young’s battle with Spotify.
Young made headlines on Jan. 24 when he demanded his music be pulled from Spotify due to the streaming site’s support for The Joe Rogan Experience, a popular podcast which has been scrutinized for promoting lies about COVID-19 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,” the rocker wrote at the time. “I want all my music off their platform. They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both.”
Spotify respected Young’s ultimatum and opted to pull the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s catalog from their platform. Doing so has resulted in a new round of criticism, as musicians and fans alike have slammed the streaming giant for seemingly backing Rogan’s side in the debate.
In a show of support, Nils Lofgren also had his music removed from Spotify. “We will miss the $3.28 we get a year but we will forge ahead righteously,” the rocker’s wife remarked via Twitter.
Young’s former CSNY bandmate David Crosby said the musician’s action “makes me proud of him,” while Kay Hanley of '90s alt-rock group Letters to Cleo wrote: “If record labels + fans found out in the 90s that Tower Records was ripping off artists, using music profits to bankroll and elevate Rush Limbaugh, the shelves would have been empty. I hope more powerful artists follow Neil Young’s stance on toxic jock Joe Rogan #LeaveSpotify.”
Catherine Mayer, widow of Gang of Four’s Andy Gill who died in the pandemic’s early days, wrote an open letter to Spotify condemning the streaming company’s decision. “If my beloved husband, Andy Gill, hadn’t died at the start of the pandemic, he’d have strong and clear feelings about your decision to remove Neil Young’s music in favor of a podcast that has spread anti-vax misinformation,” she wrote in part. “If vaccines had been available at the start of the pandemic, he’d be here to have that conversation with you. Instead, I must speak for him. And I have to tell you, as his widow, I feel sick about the business decision you’ve made.”
Meanwhile, Sebastian Bach called on his fellow musicians to voice support for Young. “Imagine calling yourself a rocker yet siding with some dude who has a podcast over Neil Young,” the former Skid Row frontman declared. “You can stick to listening to your podcast and I will stick to listening to Neil Young.”
Still, not every musician was in Young’s corner. David Draiman, frontman of the metal band Disturbed, voiced support for Spotify’s decision. “[Spotify CEO Daniel Ek] I applaud you and Spotify for making the RIGHT call, preserving #FreeSpeech and not capitulating to the mob,” the singer declared. “I may not agree with everything Joe Rogan or his guests say, but they’re entitled to have the forum to say it.”
In a statement to Billboard, Spotify said: “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-19 since the start of the pandemic. We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.”
The aforementioned tweets and more can be found below.
Barry Manilow
@barrymanilow
·
7h
I recently heard a rumor about me and Spotify. I don’t know where it started, but it didn’t start with me or anyone who represents me.
In response, I have started Joe Rogen playing in the background along with other podcasts. If a few thousand hits help then so be if. I also searched on Neil young sucks.
That’s a link to YouTube. WTF. ARe you retarded. Link to Spotify.
Just signed up for Spotify today and subscribed to the Joe Rogan Experience.
If I am not wrong, Rogan’s contract is $100M+
I’m sure Rogan was smart enough to have a cancellation clause. What would it cost Spotify to cancel Rogan?
Gang of Four were openly socialist. (Made some great music tho.)
Neil Young has NEVER been about free speech or liberty. (Powderfinger is a great song tho.)
To hell with those intolerant fascists who want to silence anyone who disagrees with them. I certainly won’t miss them. As anyone who has read my music posts on this site knows, I will take Victor Young over Neil Young, Bob Crosby over David Crosby, and Guy Mitchell over Joni Mitchell any day.
Good deal. If you have a tablet or iPhone …. Just login start the podcast, turn volume down and keep surfing FR. Lol. Screw them.
LOL!
I’m halfway done with some podcast that I haven’t heard a word of. I have viewed about 30 FR treads. I donate to FR but don’t pay for Spotify. So I feel ok with that approach to this BS.
have fun. I do recommend listening to the JR Malone Or JR McCullough and JR Peterson casts. They ate long but worth it. I haven’t figured out how to run it at 1,25 speed. That’s my sweet spot. 1.5 is too fast for me. In my youth, who knows.
The thing I like about JR is his guests (usually) talk more than he does. That’s what I’m like, especially on a subject I’m interested in.
Yoko Ono has threatened to have her music added to Spotify unless Joe Rogan is removed...
Too slow and drawn out. I like the Original ‘Sound of Silence’ song better. Funny thing is I actually came up with my own lyrics altered for Islam . If I can find it I might even post them.
I wonder what Crosby,Stills and Nash have to say about the issue...
Just pinging people I look for. Maybe someone can start a Spotify recommendation of the day / week thread. Some good content out there. Not sure if it’s against FR rules. So many great topics to choose from.
haha
See my tagline. These days, I’m more into Strauss, Chopin, Mozart, with a little Dave Brubeck and Aaron Lewis thrown into my mixtape.
Spotify is fine with censorship in general but not for one of their big money makers.
You’re a damn commie if you’re pulling your music because of free speech. Screw all the commie “artists”.
Spotify’s market cap went up $4BILLION in the days after their Rogan signing announcement. They won’t be cancelling Rogan.
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