Spotify Technology has reportedly started removing Neil Young’s music after he asked his label to get his songs removed saying that he believes Spotify is spreading misinformation about COVID-19 through Joe Rogan's podcast, The Wall Street Journal reported. In an open letter, Young had written, “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
In the letter, that has since been deleted, he wrote, “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines- potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread.”
Young further wrote, “With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, (The Joe Rogan Experience), which is hosted exclusively on Spotify, is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence. Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy.”
He added, “I sincerely hope that other artists and record companies will move off the Spotify platform and stop supporting Spotify’s deadly misinformation about Covid.”
A Spotify spokesperson 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.” The spokesperson told Hollywood Reporter that Spotify has removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID.
Earlier, 270 scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals wrote a letter to Spotify objecting to the misinformation on Rogan’s podcast.
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