Singer Neil Young resumes presence on Spotify following boycott due to podcaster Joe Rogan's content
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Taking a trip down memory lane, let's revisit the time Neil Young yanked his tunes off Spotify in 2020 due to Joe Rogan's peddling of anti-vaccine woo on his widely-popular podcast. Fast forward to today, Young's back on the platform, albeit with a bit of grumble in his voice.
As it turns out, Apple and Amazon started carrying the same conspiracy-laden podcast that Young had previously accused Spotify of hosting. He voiced his displeasure in a Tuesday blog post, stating, "I can't just ditch Apple and Amazon like I did Spotify, or my music would be pretty much inaccessible to music fans everywhere. Hence, I'm back on Spotify, with a hope that they'll beef up their sound quality and deliver the real music experience we intended."
In the December of '21, Rogan continued his misinformation spree with episodes featuring Dr. Robert Malone and Dr. Peter McCullough, both of whom have a history of dishing out false info about the covid-19 vaccine. Spotify finally added warning labels to episodes containing dubious covid info but declined to take down the controversially-tagged episodes. Rogan issued a half-hearted apology for platforming antivax viewpoints, but his taste for conspiracy theories has only grown stronger, as evidenced by his recent sharing of a phony story about a school providing litter boxes for "furry" students.
Beyond Rogan's nonsense, Young has an abiding interest in audio quality. Over the years, he's rolled out his own "high resolution" portable music player, penned a book on his crusade to save high-quality music, and supported music services like Qobuz and Tidal that offer top-notch audio. Young mentioned his hope that Spotify introduces a limited "Hi res tier" to cater to his requirements for superior audio quality for his music.
As for recent statements from Young regarding Spotify's current output or misinformation, well, you'd have to check out reliable music news sources or his official communications for updated information. Historically, Young has been vocal about audio quality issues, often championing better sound standards for digital music platforms. However, we haven't heard much from him on Spotify's current state of the union in the convoluted world of online audio.
- Neil Young's return to Spotify in 2021 was somewhat reluctant, as he voiced concerns about the platform's handling of misinformation, especially related to vaccines and technology.
- Despite his return, Young continues to advocate for improved technology in the music industry, including a high resolution tier on Spotify that caters to his requirements for superior audio quality.
- In the future, it will be interesting to see if Spotify responds to Young's requests and whether they introduce additional measures to address misinformation on their platform, such as warning labels.
- Joe Rogan, who was initially at the center of the controversy, has continued to peddle conspiracy theories, even in the face of warnings and backlash, notably with his recent sharing of a false story about a school providing litter boxes for "furry" students.
