Iconic folk muso and Grammy Award winner Neil Young has penned an open letter to Spotify asking them to take his music off the platform while they still host Joe Rogan’s podcast. Other celebs take note: Harry Styles I’m looking at you.
In really quite a baller move, Young penned the now-deleted letter to his manager Frank Gironda and to Tom Corson who’s in charge of Warner Bros.
“Please immediately inform Spotify that I am actively canceling all my music availability on Spotify as soon as possible,” said the letter, as per Variety.
“I am doing this because Spotify is spreading false information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.
“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 of my music off their platform.
“They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
They can have Rogan or Young, not both? Fucking mic drop.
I want to see the Gen Z musicians jump on the train. Charli XCX, Ariana Grande and Doja Cat: let’s go girls.
Neil Young’s beef with Joe Rogan is mostly around his absolutely cooked takes on vaccines and his frequent spreading of COVID-19 misinformation.
Tragically for the state of the world and for people who meet straight men from dating apps IRL, The Joe Rogan Experience is Spotify’s biggest show. The Experience in question is also a bad one: aurally, morally, and entertainment wise.
Spotify paid AUD$140,150,000 (USD$100,000,000) for the show back in March 2021. For just a hundredth of that, they could’ve paid me to do an oral history of every time Ru Paul sent home the wrong queen in Drag Race.
It would be at least 14 times more interesting, 1400 times less likely to try and convince people to treat COVID-19 with horse medicine and there’d be at least a litre less spittle flung out onto the microphone.
At the moment, Neil Young’s music is still up on Spotify, so it’s unclear whether his management actually heeded his strongly worded request.
But his voice is one of many calling out Spotify for bankrolling infected toenail Joe Rogan.
Members of the global science and medicine communities wrote the company an open letter a few weeks ago.
“The JRE has a concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said.
“By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions, Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Rogan has repeatedly spread misleading and false claims on his podcast, provoking distrust in science and medicine.”
Fkn get ’em, you sexy nerds.
