Neil Young has revealed his music will be put back on Spotify, ending a boycott that lasted two years, over Joe Rogan’s podcast.
Back in 2022, Neil told Spotify to remove his music, complaining that Joe Rogan had been spreading vaccine misinformation.
He has revealed his return to the streaming service does not change his stance on the issue.
He made the decision after Joe Rogan signed a U$250 million deal to make his podcast available on various platforms, instead of keeping it a Spotify exclusive.
Neil wrote on his website, “Other music services [including] Apple, Amazon, Qobuz, Tidal… have started serving the same disinformation podcast I had opposed at Spotify.”
“Because I cannot leave all those services like I did Spotify, because my music would have no streaming outlet to music lovers at all, I have returned.”
In January 2022, Neil revealed Spotify represented 60% of his global streaming revenue, which resulted in a “huge loss for [his] record company to absorb.”
He said he removed his music because he “could not continue to support Spotify’s life-threatening misinformation to the music loving public.”
Other artists followed suit, removing their songs in solidarity. These include Joni Mitchell and India Arie.
Currently, it appears that Neil’s songs have yet to be reinstated on the streaming platform. India’s music returned last year, and Joni only has live recordings on the site.
‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ is one of the highest-played podcasts on Spotify. It’s a long form show which can sometimes run for several hours, and features interviews with various guests including comedians, athletes, scientists, and conspiracy theorists.
It has had its fair share of conspiracies. In 2022, Joe Rogan was forced to apologise for using racist language in early episodes of the show.
A new deal was signed by Joe, with Spotify last month, which states the podcast will be available on rival services such as YouTube and Apple Music.
He has expressed disappointment with Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, saying he wasn’t intentionally giving COVID-19 misinformation a platform.
At the time he said, “I’m not trying to promote misinformation. I’m not trying to be controversial. I’ve never tried to do anything with this podcast other than to just talk to people.”
“I do not know if they’re right. I don’t know because I’m not a doctor; I’m not a scientist. I’m just a person who sits down and talks to people and has conversations with them.”
Neil Young’s fight with the streaming service is not over yet. In a statement, he criticised Spotify for not offering hi-fi quality, lossless audio.
“[I have] sincere hopes that Spotify sound quality will improve and people will be able to hear and feel all the music as we made it.”
“Hopefully Spotify will return to Hi Res as the answer and serve all the music to everyone. Spotify, you can do it!”
Majority of Spotify’s competitors offer lossless audio, including Tidal, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Qobuz.
