Author of hits like “Heart of Gold” and “Harvest Moon”, Canadian singer Neil Young lost a fight with the streaming giant Spotify, by demanding that the platform take down an episode of the podcast The Joe Rogan Experience that questions the effectiveness of vaccines against Covid-19. The show, led by former UFC commentator and comedian Joe Rogan, is the most listened to in the United States, with audiences higher than Fox News and CNN.
Young, who survived polio as a child, wrote an open letter on his website addressed to his record label, Warner Music Group, and his manager, giving the platform an ultimatum to delete his songs if he didn’t remove Rogan’s interviews. The letter was deleted but, in a second post, the singer claimed that Spotify “has become the home of disinformation that puts lives at risk” and that it has “lies sold for money”.
The streaming service, which has an exclusive deal with Joe Rogan valued at $100 million, has defended itself against the allegations, saying it has already removed more than 20,000 Covid-related episodes, but that it intends to balance the safety of listeners with freedom for viewers. content creators.
On the platform, Neil Young had about 2.4 million followers and more than 6 million monthly listeners. Episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience are downloaded more than 200 million times a month.
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