“I want to let you know that I want my music to be withdrawn from the platform’s menu. They can have either Rogan or Young. Not both, “Young wrote in an open letter on Monday.
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“Spotify is spreading false information about vaccines, which could lead to the death of those who would believe their misinformation,” he added.
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He also mentioned why he requested the withdrawal of Rogan’s show. “Joe Rogan, with an estimated 11 million listeners for the Spotify-only episode, has the largest podcast in the world and a huge impact.”
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About 200 million people listen to the show every month.
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Spotify hopes for Young’s return
On Wednesday, the Spotify platform confirmed that it was downloading Young’s music.
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“We want music and audio from around the world to be available to Spotify users. We do this with great responsibility, balancing user safety with creator freedom. We regret Neil’s decision to withdraw his music from Spotify, but we hope he will return soon, “a Spotify spokesman told USA Today.
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Young’s songs were listened to by over six million people a month on Spotify, and the biggest hit, Heart of Gold, was played 235,931,578 times.
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A spokesman for the platform added that Spotify had very carefully set rules and had eliminated over 20,000 episodes of various podcasts since the outbreak of the pandemic. But he didn’t mention whether Joe Rogan’s podcasts were among them.
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Donald Trump Jr., the son of the former US President, also commented on the dispute, stating on Twitter that Young no longer has the rights to his music.
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For $ 150 million, he sold 50 percent of his song rights to the British investment fund Hipganosis Songs Fund.
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However, Young still holds the other half of the rights, although Trump’s son claims that Young tried to sell the rights to his father ten years ago.
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So Neil Young pulled his letter to Spotify because it seems he doesn’t even own his music portfolio anymore & therefore has no control. That checks out because he was in our offices a decade ago trying to sell it. We passed! I know because I think I took this pic in DJTs office! pic.twitter.com/2cwYng8q0L
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 26, 2022
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The most popular podcast
Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has been running since 2009, is one of the most popular in the United States. According to The Wall Street Journal, the platform gained access to all episodes of its podcast for more than $ 100 million last year.
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Rogan tested positive for covid-19 last September, yet reduced the importance of mass vaccination and the need to be vaccinated to attend major cultural events.
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In addition, he often comments on coronavirus vaccines in his social media accounts.
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Last year, Rogan said on Instagram that he had treated his symptoms with ivermectin, even though the antiparasitic drug was not among the drugs approved for the treatment of covid-19.
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On January 12, Spofify was criticized by a group of 270 doctors, scientists and educators. She called on the platform to act clearly in the event of misinformation.
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In an open letter, she mentioned one part of Rogan’s podcast, in which immunologist Robert Malone falsely claimed that vaccines using mRNA technology did not work, even though their effectiveness was proven in clinical trials and practical use.
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Another of Young’s disputes with Spotify
This isn’t the first time Neil Young, one of the biggest living rock stars, has gotten into a dispute with Spotify.
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In 2015, he withdrew his music from the Spotify offer and other similar platforms because, according to him, the quality of the offered recordings was poor. Spotify started offering his music again only in 2016.
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Neil Young established himself in the 1960s, when he became a member of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young supergroup. His famous albums are Harvest Moon and After The Gold Rush. He later collaborated with Pearl Jam. Spotify had 40 of his albums on offer.
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