Neil Young sues Spotify over incorrect vaccine information

Neil Young threatened to remove his music from the Spotify platform in protest of the relationship the medium maintains with ‘podcaster’ Joe Rogan, who is the productive singer-songwriter accused of spreading misinformation about covid-19. Young, who survived polio as a child, briefly posted a letter on his website to his manager and his record label, Warner Music Group, in which they demanded that Spotify no longer stream his music. The letter was later removed. In it he said: “I want you to inform Spotify TODAY immediately that I want all my music from your platform … You can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” Young wrote in the letter, as published by the ‘Wall Street Journal’. Rogan, 54, hosts ‘The Joe Rogan experience’, the podcast top rated on spotify, which has the exclusive rights to the program.

“I do this because Spotify spreads false information about vaccines, which can lead to the death of those who believe such misinformation,” Young (76) wrote.

As of Tuesday, the American rocker’s music, including songs such as “Heart of Gold,” “Rocking in the Free World” and “Old Man,” was still available on the service, as well as Rogan’s podcast.

Neither Spotify, Warner Music Group nor ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ immediately responded to what happened. A representative for Young could also not be reached.

Controversy

Earlier this month, 270 scientists and medical professionals signed an open letter to Spotify taking action against Rogan, accusing him of spreading untruths on the podcast.

Rogan, who started his career as a comedian, for a long time controversy unleashed with his view on the pandemic, government mandates and vaccines to control the spread of the coronavirus. He questioned the need for covid-19 vaccines in his program and said he used ivermectin, a dewormer that has no proven benefit against covid.

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In the letter, Young highlighted an episode in which a Rogan guest pushed false anti-vaccination theories. Young’s letter noted that the podcast Rogan attracts 11 million listeners every episode and stressed that Spotify does not have a policy to deal with disinformation, the newspaper said.

Spotify started streaming the Rogan podcast in September as part of its efforts to become the Netflix of audio. Rogan retains full creative control over the show.