Neil Young’s boycott of streaming service Spotify has so far not garnered much support from his fellow musicians with only aging hippie friends Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren announcing they are joining Young by pulling their song catalogue from the platform in protest of the site hosting the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in Beverly Hills, CA, February 11, 2012, photo by Lester Cohen, Getty Images.
Mitchell’s statement: “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue. —Joni Mitchell”
Mitchell cited a letter to Spotify by activist physicians demanding censorship of Rogan (excerpt):
On Dec. 31, 2021, the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), a Spotify-exclusive podcast, uploaded a highly controversial episode featuring guest Dr. Robert Malone (#1757). The episode has been criticized for promoting baseless conspiracy theories and the JRE has a concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions, Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals. JRE #1757 is not the only transgression to occur on the Spotify platform, but a relevant example of the platform’s failure to mitigate the damage it is causing.
We are a coalition of scientists, medical professionals, professors, and science communicators spanning a wide range of fields such as microbiology, immunology, epidemiology, and neuroscience and we are calling on Spotify to take action against the mass-misinformation events which continue to occur on its platform. With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence. Though Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, the company presently has no misinformation policy.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Rogan has repeatedly spread misleading and false claims on his podcast, provoking distrust in science and medicine. He has discouraged vaccination in young people and children, incorrectly claimed that mRNA vaccines are “gene therapy,” promoted off-label use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 (contrary to FDA warnings), and spread a number of unsubstantiated conspiracy theories…
Lofgren announced, “I stand with Neil Young,” and pulled his songs from Spotify.
Three days ago #DeleteSpotify https://t.co/O3nhBooN7Z
— Nils Lofgren (@nilslofgren) January 28, 2022
Lofgren, who has had a modest solo career for decades but is better known for being a guitarist for Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen, told Rolling Stone, “We encourage all musicians, artists and music lovers everywhere, to stand with us all, and cut ties with Spotify”
In the 1970s, Mitchell wore Blackface, masquerading as a pimp-type character.
The entertainment media tried to fluff Young’s boycott with a disingenuous story on Spotify’s stock losing value when Spotify has been on a deep slide for a year.
In 2006, Neil Young led Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young on the now ironically titled Freedom of Speech tour.
Update: A largely unknown “resistance” group called USA Singers joined the Spotify boycott a few days ago.
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