Spotify has begun removing Neil Young's music from its platform after an ultimatum was made by the rock star.
The musician had penned an open letter to his manager and label asking them to remove his music from Spotify if the site continued to host Joe Rogan's podcast.
He alleged that Rogan's podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, had been spreading "false information" on Covid vaccines and that this "disinformation" could be harmful.
A Spotify spokesman confirmed that the platform would not be removing Rogan's podcast so they would abide by Young's request to have his music removed.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Spotify said: “We want all the world’s music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators.
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“We have detailed content policies in place and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to Covid since the start of the pandemic. We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.”
Young initially released the open letter on his website on Monday (January 24) on his website which has since been deleted.
The 76-year-old wrote: “Please immediately inform Spotify that I am actively canceling all my music availability on Spotify as soon as possible.
"I am doing this because Spotify is spreading false information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.
“Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule. I want you to let Spotify know immediately today that I want all of my music off their platform.”
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