The Heart of Gold singer Neil Young has announced his return to Spotify after removing his music from the platform to boycott podcaster Joe Rogan in 2022.
Young removed his entire music catalogue from Spotify after Rogan’s podcast featured a controversial infectious disease expert during the COVID pandemic.
As of February this year, The Joe Rogan Experience podcast is no longer a Spotify exclusive. It can now be found on platforms including Apple Podcasts and Youtube.
“The #1 streamer of low res music in the world”
Writing on his website, Young stated, “My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify. 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 is a long-time advocate for high-quality audio, calling Spotify “the #1 streamer of low-res music in the world—Spotify, where you get less quality than we made.” He expressed his hope that Spotify will introduce a high-definition tier to its service and mentioned its competitors, Qobuz and Tidal.
“Concert tours are not what they were.”
Young’s decision to remove his songs from Spotify garnered support from fellow artist Joni Mitchell, who removed all but one of her albums from the platform in 2022. Mitchell has made no statement following the news of Young’s return regarding whether she re-adds her music.
In November, Young boycotted X after owner Elon Musk promoted an antisemitic tweet. He also spoke against Ticketmaster fees in 2023, writing: “Artists have to worry about ripped off fans blaming them for Ticketmaster add-ons and scalpers. Concert tours are no longer fun. Concert tours not what they were.”
However, in April he is heading out on a North America tour with his band Crazy Horse promoted by Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company.
Young’s new album, Fu##in Up, a live album recorded in November, will be released in April.
Featured Image Credit: Neil Young Archives
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