Spotify Competitors Celebrate Neil Young, Artists Weigh In On Joe Rogan Controversy

Rich Fury/Invision/AP

Spotify Competitors Celebrate Neil Young, Artists Weigh In On Joe Rogan Controversy

Rich Fury/Invision/AP

Earlier this week, Neil Young asked that his music be pulled from Spotify, citing COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on the platform and telling Spotify to choose between him and controversial podcast host Joe Rogan. Spotify has acquiesced, and Young reasoned in one of his open letters: “Losing 60% of worldwide streaming income by leaving SPOTIFY is a very big deal, a costly move, but worth it for our integrity and beliefs.” Now, as #BoycottSpotify is trending, the service’s competitors — like Apple Music, Tidal, and SiriusXM — are capitalizing on the shake-up.

Apple Music, for example, is currently featuring Young’s music under the header “We Love Neil” in its Browse section, and SiriusXM has brought back its Neil Young Radio station. Plus, those services — and others like Tidal, Deezer, and Quobuz — are posting winky-face statuses to social media:

https://twitter.com/SIRIUSXM/status/1486704650309058566

Fans, celebrities, and fellow artists are also taking sides, with David Crosby tweeting how he was “proud” of his former bandmate.

https://twitter.com/sebastianbach/status/1486740436311887877

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