Spotify has begun removing songs by folk-rock musician Neil Young at his request after he had challenged the music streaming platform to choose between podcasts hosted by Joe Rogan and his own music.
Young claimed Rogan’s podcasts were spreading misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccines.
As long as it continued to host Rogan’s podcasts, Young said on his website, Spotify would be ‘the home of life threatening COVID misinformation’.
Rogan’s podcast is one of the most popular podcasts ever, regularly getting over a million views or listens per episode. It is also the most popular podcasts on Spotify.
Rogan is known for hosting controversial figures such as Jordan Peterson, James Lindsay, and Robert Malone. Malone’s research into mRNA technology contributed to the development of mRNA vaccines but Malone now claims that these vaccines are harmful.
Spotify said in a statement: ‘We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.’
[Image: Tore Sætre, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51740781]