Neil Young's criticism of Spotify's decision to allow Joe Rogan to spread misinformation about the COVID vaccine on his popular podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience," sank the company's stock by $4 billion last week. Shares of Spotify plunged over 13% on Friday, Jan. 28, according to Nasdaq figures, although the broader index remained unchanged at the same time the previous week. #DeleteSpotify and #CancelSpotify became hot hashtags on social media, with a slew of websites giving step-by-step instructions for users to remove the software.
Almost all of Young's music was removed from Spotify on Wednesday, Jan. 26. This came two days after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer purportedly warranted Spotify to choose between Rogan and Young, and not both, as he claimed.
Rogan's interview with Dr Robert Malone last month generated a discussion. Anti-vaccine activists have hailed Malone as a hero for his erroneous assertion that millions of people have been indoctrinated into believing that vaccines prevent catastrophic sickness, despite the fact that he was previously banned from Twitter for spreading incorrect information. Millions of people were deceived into thinking the pandemic was a hoax because of this.
Concerned about Spotify's unanticipated transformation into a hazardous force owing to the general public's lack of understanding of COVID and its accompanying disinformation, Young wrote an open letter on his website. False and misleading information, such as the kind seen on Spotify's COVID related podcasts, is more likely to fool listeners in their twenties and thirties.
Young stated in the letter that the goal of his complaint was not to censor the podcast host. He supports free speech and has never advocated censorship. Just as private companies may choose what they profit from, so has he opted not to have his music support a platform that disseminates terrible stuff. For him, it's an honour to show his support for the courageous front-line healthcare professionals who risk their own safety every day to save others. In addition, he said that his music was still available in a higher-quality version on Amazon, Apple Music, and Qobuz. “The fact that I sound better everywhere else is an additional bonus, as well," Young noted.
Joe Rogan, on the other hand, has responded to the recent controversy in which musicians such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have taken their songs off Spotify because they don't want to share a platform with his renowned podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. He apologizes to Spotify for the outcry and explains how the programme may change in the future in a roughly ten-minute video shared on Instagram.
Since these podcasts are more like conversation sessions, Rogan says in the video, they're quite odd. He also says he doesn't always plan out what he's going to say, so the majority of what he has to say is spontaneous. For him, the beauty of his programme is that everything takes place in real time, thus he defended himself. Aside from expressing his thanks, he also conveyed his sadness over what had transpired.
One of the most talked about guests on Rogan's show was Dr Peter McCullough. According to fact-checking NGO Science Feedback, the COVID-19 pandemic was the topic of multiple problematic claims made by guests on The Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan describes this particular set of guests as "highly competent, incredibly clever, very successful folks," and says they have a distinct perspective. Therefore, inquisitiveness was piqued in him.
Singer-songwriter India Arie is among a number of musicians who have lately requested that Spotify delete their music from the service after the airing of Covid-19 falsehoods on Rogan's programme. She also expressed her displeasure with Rogan's use of the n-word by posting a compilation of Rogan’s podcasts on her Instagram account where he had used such expressions. Rogan issued an apology on Instagram on Saturday in this backdrop.
Spotify has removed almost 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 since the epidemic began, according to a statement issued last week. Nevertheless, when compared to Rogan's 11 million audience per episode, Young's average monthly average of 6 million viewers is far less. Joe Rogan is Spotify's $100 million guy, while Neil Young was Spotify's $20 billion loser for at least one tense weekend. In contrast, Young is steadfast in his beliefs. History, not tomorrow's headlines, will expose the extent of the platform's damage.
After a week of criticism for letting its producers — especially podcaster Joe Rogan — to propagate disinformation about the epidemic, Spotify broke its silence on Sunday and made minor modifications to its content standards about COVID-19.
The new adjustments include making the company's internal guidelines regarding what is permitted on the platform publicly available, "trying strategies to emphasise" those restrictions to the platform's producers, and "planning to add a content advisory to each podcast episode that contains a discussion of COVID-19."
Truth and deceit are dividing people not just in politics, but in the media, music, and sports as well. In the fresh episode, it appears as if Neil Young has come out as a campaigner, enticing famous celebrities into his club. Both Nils Lofgren and Joni Mitchell have also announced that they would be leaving Spotify. Various other artists and podcasters like Brené Brown, India Arie, Wendy Zukerman, Blythe Terrell, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Roxane Gay, Mary Trump are also following their footsteps! Joni Mitchell has demanded that Spotify delete her songs due to 'deadly falsehoods.' A longtime composer and painter, Mitchell announced on her own official website on Friday, Jan. 28, that she has chosen to remove all of her songs from Spotify's catalogue. She made the argument that careless individuals are more likely to spread false information, increasing the risk of harming or killing innocent people. Because of this, she joins Neil Young and the rest of the world's medical and scientific community in their support of this subject. In her letter to Spotify, Mitchell included a petition signed by a number of doctors and scientists who urged the streaming service to set rules to counteract the spread of disinformation on their platform.
Neil Young's Spotify Crusade has made him a hero among both younger and older generations. Though it will be difficult to stop Spotify and, in particular, the wildly famous podcaster Joe Rogan from spreading false information. We can see how Neil Young has utilised his music to convey a strong message to Spotify, and his actions may demonstrate that social issues may take precedence over financial profits. It demonstrates the strength of conviction. He really is a hero!