On Monday, musician Neil Young publicly called on the podcast and music platform Spotify to remove all of his music as a protest against podcast host Joe Rogan allowing freedom of speech on his show when it comes to such topics as the Coronavirus.
USA Today reports that Young sent an open letter to his manager Frank Gironda, and Warner Bros. co-chairman and chief operating officer Tom Corson, demanding that all of his songs be pulled from the platform due to what Young falsely described as “misinformation” regarding COVID-19.
“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, without providing any evidence. “Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule.”
“They can have Rogan or Young,” the letter concluded. “Not both.”
Rogan is the host of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which is widely considered the most popular podcast in the world. After previously broadcasting on YouTube, Rogan’s show moved exclusively to Spotify in December of 2020 in a $100 million deal. Rogan’s podcast has become renowned for featuring guests from all across the political spectrum, including guests who have been censored by mainstream media and Big Tech platforms.
One of Rogan’s most recent interviews was with Dr. Robert Malone, one of the inventors of the mRNA vaccine, who voiced his skepticism about the numerous COVID-19 vaccines that are being forced on the broader population. This appearance led to a spike in popularity for Rogan’s podcast, but also led to condemnation from the media and scientific elite, with over 300 alleged medical experts signing an open letter condemning Rogan’s interview, claiming that he was spreading “misleading and false claims” and “a number of unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.”
However, this is not the first time that Young has demanded that Spotify remove his music over minor or unrelated issues. In 2015, the singer had all of his music removed when he claimed that the audio quality of the platform was too low, only for all his music to be restored in 2016.