Neil Young announced on Wednesday that his music will return to Spotify following a more than two-year boycott of the audio streaming platform over vaccine misinformation.
Young’s departure was largely motivated by Spotify’s contentious multimillion-dollar deal with Joe Rogan and his podcast. "The Joe Rogan Experience" is one of the most popular podcasts and the most-searched-for podcast on Spotify, according to a May 2020 brief posted on Spotify's For the Record. The podcast, which premiered in 2009, was acquired by the music & audio streaming provider in May 2020 through a multi-year exclusive licensing deal.
In 2022, Young accused Rogan of spreading “fake information” about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines on his show. "I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them," Young wrote in a now-deleted letter addressed to his management team and record label. "I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform. They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both."
In a statement released Tuesday, Young said his decision to return was due to Apple and Amazon “serving the same disinformation podcast features” he opposed at Spotify. Last month, Spotify announced a new multiyear partnership deal with Rogan, which allows his podcast to be available on additional platforms. “The Joe Rogan Experience” will soon return to several platforms, including Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Amazon Music.
“I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all, so I have returned to Spotify,” Young wrote on his website.
