Indeed, this isn’t the first time Neil Young has duelled with the giants of the music world.
The cultural weight that Neil Young’s music holds is incalculable – a true legend, he’s inspired everyone from Kurt Cobain to Laura Marling, walking his own path in the process. Yet there’s something here that can’t be valued in dollars and cents, or pennies and pounds. Joe Rogan’s deal may be worth $100 million, but a sale last year valued Neil Young’s catalogue at more than $300 million – and he’s still adding to that. The streaming giant is willing to invest huge sums of money in podcasting, but not in music-making. The move is indicative both of economic factors, and Spotify’s priorities as a business. "With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators." "We want all the world's music and audio content to be available to Spotify users," the company said in a statement. In a weak statement Spotify said it “regrets” Neil Young’s decision, before throwing their weight behind Joe Rogan’s freedoms as host. Yet Spotify – rather than damage their $100 million relationship with Joe Rogan – have simply begun the process of removing Neil Young’s catalogue, bit by bit, and piece by piece. With the backing of his label Reprise Records – a sub-division of Warner – Neil Young refused to back down. The spread and impact of polio was largely curbed by the vaccination of children – the benefits of medical breakthroughs can be seen in Neil Young’s own life.
The statement undoubtedly comes from a deeply personal place: Neil Young suffered polio as a child, almost losing his life in the last major outbreak of the disease in Ontario. He also referred to the streaming giant as "the home of life-threatening Covid misinformation", before adding: "Lies being sold for money." In a note on his site, Neil Young accused Spotify of "spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them". In the podcast, the host interviewed a controversial medical figure who opposes the vaccination of children – in response, Neil Young called out Spotify, who recently inked a $100 million deal with Joe Rogan. Neil Young opted to confront Spotify over their handling of Joe Rogan’s podcast, citing COVID misinformation in one episode. A confrontation with a true giant of modern music isn’t exactly what Spotify needs right now, but that’s exactly what the Swedish born company has got on its hands.
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