Young has turned his focus to Spotify staff
Neil Young‘s has doubled down in his protest against Spotify with the musician now calling on company employees to “get out of that place before it eats up your soul”.
In a letter posted to his website, the 76-year-old singer-songwriter once again urged his fans and fellow artists to “ditch the misinformers” and “find a good clean place to support with your monthly checks”.
Spotify has come under fire in recent weeks for allowing podcaster Joe Rogan to continue posting episodes of his show that contain “dangerous” misinformation regarding covid-19 and the vaccine.
Beyond those in medical and scientific fields being critical of the platform, the likes of Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, Indie Arie, and many more have decided to ditch it, and fans of other artists, such as Taylor Swift, are calling for them to do the same.
Arie also pointed out that Rogan has used the N-word on at least 22 occasions across various different episodes – 133 of which have now been removed for offensive language or misinformation.
In his statement, Young went on to implore that “musicians and creators… must be able to find a better place than Spotify to be the home of your art”, before also changing tact to target the company’s CEO, Daniel Ek – the same man who is trying to buy Arsenal football club.
“To the workers at Spotify, I say Daniel Ek is your big problem – not Joe Rogan. Ek pulls the strings. Get out of that place before it eats up your soul. The only goals stated by Ek are about numbers – not art, not creativity.”
Ek had been relatively quiet on the situation until recently when he told his employees in a company message that while he “strongly condemns” what Rogan has said, “I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer”, warning that “cancelling voices is a slippery slope.”
Young also added, “To the baby boomers, I say 70 per cent of the country’s financial assets are in your hands compared with just about five per cent for millennials. You and I need to lead.” The musician also hit out at world banks for their contribution to global warming.
Rogan – who hosts his self-styled cult show The Joe Rogan Experience – issued a response to the growing backlash, insisting that they are “just conversations” but that he will take greater care to fact-check and include different perspectives.
Related links
- Harry and Meghan call out Spotify over Joe Rogan Covid misinformation row
- Jimmy Carr Netflix special: 15,000 sign petition calling for comedian’s show to be removed
- James Blunt threatens to release new music on Spotify if they don’t remove Joe Rogan
