JOE ROGAN VS. NEIL YOUNG

ILLUSTRATION: @red_moon_design

THE BIG PICTURE THE NEIL YOUNG VS. JOE ROGAN DEBACLE

WORDS: GUY DAVIES

To those of us wellversed in the protesting timeline of Neil Young’s career, from abandoning tours midway, declining to release completed albums and removing his partner’s, Crosby, Stills & Nash, contributions from the master tapes before releasing them, Young demanding his music be removed from Spotify feels less like a shock than confusion as to why it’s taken a bluechip rock legend so long to grab power from the metaphorical jaws of, the widely scorned, streaming giant. Spotify had been in Young’s crosshairs before, seven years ago, he had removed his music from the platform (later returned), stating it offered listeners “the worst quality in the history of broadcasting”, a complaint he renewed recently, leading his fans to other streaming services that “present my music today in all its high-resolution glory”. professors wrote an open letter to Spotify, expressing deep concern over the spread of medical misinformation rife on the “Joe Rogan Experience”.

The gripes that Young has been about the vaccine misinformation spread by Joe Rogan on his podcast. New York Times has described Rogan as “one of the most consumed media products on the planet”. Spotify took this into account as in 2020 Rogan signed a $100m deal that gave the streaming platform exclusive rights to the show, which may have been the nail in its own coffin. I am not suggesting that Spotify will collapse due to the recent controversy, but once Rogan signed that exclusive rights contract he stopped being the free press, able to express any opinion with little to no backlash, he is now, arguably, a spokesperson FOR the software. This is why Young and 270 doctors, scientists, healthcare professionals, and The letter stated, “This is not only a scientific or medial concern; it is a sociological issue of devastating proportions and Spotify is responsible for allowing this activity to thrive on its platform”. Following Young’s catalogue deletion announcement, he wrote on his website, castigating Spotify as “the home of life-threatening Covid misinformation. Selling lies for money.”

Spotify has a history of upsetting the artists they offer. Famously, Taylor Swift ignited a three-year boycott in 2014, in which she said Spotify was undervaluing art after an argument on royalty rates, Swift later backed down claiming the

decision was a “gift” to her fans. Adele kept her album “25” from Spotify for months after release (with her new album “30” appearing instantly) due to Spotify’s shuffle function, it being the default setting when playing albums, which has since dissipated, due to Adele’s argument that an album is supposed to be enjoyed start to finish, you wouldn’t pick specific pages of a book and say you’ve read it. Adele and Swift have ten times the monthly listeners that Young has, although he may be a legend, showing that, maybe, bigger streaming artists could have an effect on the biggest streaming platform’s decisions, but so few ever raise their voice, I assume because they are unwilling to disrupt the still water and suffer the same fate as Young.

Neil Young may not have the highest monthly listeners, but his fan base is of a generally older demographic, meaning a majority of his listeners comes from avenues like Vinyl, CDs, and tour dates. This gives Young the freedom to give a finger to the giant rather than play limbo like the rest of the “victims”. Unlike previous gripes of money or artistry toward Spotify, Young’s disagreements feel different; it is about politics and social morality. Spotify vaguely replies, “hoping to welcome [Young] back soon”, and a far cry from the “Anything for you” desperation toward Adele’s shuffle request. Young writes, “I sincerely hope that other artists will move off the Spotify platform”. Other artists have joined ranks with Neil Young, including Joni Mitchell.

“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell says, “I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue”. Young and Mitchell have been friends for over half a century, emerging around the same time touring with similar ‘punk’ attitudes, riding the wave of stratospheric fame together. ‘Only Love can break your heart’, one of Young’s greatest songs, was written for Graham Nash, who was grieving after his break-up with Joni Mitchell. Young and Mitchell understand first-hand the dangers of the anti-vax misinformation rumour-mill. As children, they both contracted Polio BEFORE vaccinations were widely available, Mitchell was hospitalized for weeks, Young quarantining with a sign on his family home warning neighbours. Rachel Clarke, best-selling author, and NHS doctor tweeted: “Both Neil Young & Joni Mitchell…know painfully well how much harm, suffering & avoidable death anti-vaxxers can cause”.

Various right-wing figures, including the Godfather of misinformation, Donald Trump Jr, pointed out that Young didn’t have control over his master recordings after he sold a 50% stake to the publishing company Hipgnosis in Jan 2021. Young stated that he “was reminded by my own legal forces that contractually I did not have control of my music”, but his record label, Reprise (a Warner Music Group subsidiary) allowed the music to be removed. “Thank you, Warner Brothers, for standing with me and taking the hit – losing 60% of my worldwide streaming income in the name of truth” he wrote.

“IRRESPONSIBLE PEOPLE ARE SPREADING LIES THAT ARE COSTING PEOPLE THEIR LIVES.”