Neil Younger will return his music to Spotify, two years after withdrawing it in protest over the podcast host Joe Rogan’s reveals about Covid-19, the veteran rock musician introduced on his web site Tuesday.
With out naming Rogan, Younger wrote: “My choice comes as music companies Apple and Amazon have began serving the identical disinformation podcast options I had opposed at Spotify.” Rogan beforehand had an unique cope with Spotify, which has since been renewed to permit wider distribution of his present.
In January 2022, Younger drew broad consideration by accusing Spotify of “spreading pretend details about vaccines” by Rogan’s present, and he gave the platform an ultimatum: “They will have Rogan or Younger. Not each.”
Rogan, a comic and actor, has develop into probably the most widespread and influential figures in podcasting along with his present “The Joe Rogan Expertise,” which options lengthy, freewheeling interviews with friends like Elon Musk, Ye, scientists and fellow comedians.
Days earlier than Younger’s public letter, a gaggle of medical doctors, scientists and public well being officers requested Spotify to crack down on Covid-19 misinformation, pointing to an episode of Rogan’s present that featured Dr. Robert Malone, a virologist and vaccine skeptic who promoted a principle that tens of millions of individuals had been “hypnotized” in regards to the coronavirus.
Following Younger’s protest, the singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell additionally eliminated her music from Spotify, and the R&B singer India.Arie circulated clips displaying Rogan utilizing a racial slur repeatedly on the present. Rogan apologized for his use of the phrase, and Spotify quietly removed dozens of episodes of his present. Rogan additionally stated he was keen to have “extra consultants with differing opinions proper after I’ve the controversial ones.”
In a public assertion on the time, Daniel Ek, Spotify’s chief govt, stated, “It is very important me that we don’t tackle the place of being content material censor whereas additionally ensuring that there are guidelines in place and penalties for many who violate them.” The corporate added a “content material advisory” discover to any podcast episode that concerned Covid.
Spotify signed Rogan to a deal in 2020, value not less than $200 million, that made his present unique to that platform. Final month, the corporate introduced a brand new, multiyear association with Rogan through which Spotify would additionally distribute “The Joe Rogan Expertise” to different podcast platforms, in addition to YouTube. In accordance with a report in The Wall Road Journal, the brand new deal may very well be value as much as $250 million.
In his assertion on Tuesday, Younger didn’t give a timeline for when his music would return to Spotify, and a consultant of Spotify didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. A spokeswoman for Mitchell didn’t instantly reply when requested whether or not Mitchell would additionally reverse her choice.
Final yr, in an evaluation of how Younger’s streaming exercise had modified since withdrawing his music from Spotify, Billboard estimated that the protest had value him about $16,000 in royalties per 30 days.
