Apple Music trolls Spotify by boosting Neil Young’s music: ‘We Love Neil’

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWith its Joe Rogan deal in a white-hot spotlight, Spotify has pulled an additional 70 episodes of the popular podcaster’s show from the platform.The 70 episodes removed Friday were originally recorded between 2009 and 2018 — before the COVID-19 pandemic. A controversy over coronavirus misinformation on Rogan’s podcast has boiled in the last two weeks, spurring Neil Young and others to demand that their songs get pulled from Spotify.But controversy attracted by Rogan has not been limited to COVID. Singer India Arie this week said she was pulling her music and podcasts off Spotify, saying that “I find Joe Rogan problematic for reasons other than COVID interviews… For me it’s also his language around race.” Arie subsequently posted a video clip on Instagram compiling 24 times Rogan used the N-word on his podcast.

Joe Rogan has issued a statement expressing his regret over his use of the “N-word” in clips circulated by songstress India Arie.

Joe Rogan has issued an apology for racist language he’s used in episodes of his popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.”

Mumford & Sons member Winston Marshall has written a piece for Bari Weiss’ Substack criticising artists taking action against Spotify.In the essay entitled ‘When Artists Become the Censors’, Marshall takes aim at those he believes are threatening free speech, including Neil Young, who recently pulled his music from Spotify.On January 24, Young published an open letter – which has since been deleted – expressing his feelings about content like the Joe Rogan Experience podcast “spreading false information about vaccines”. This sparked a wider protest, with the likes of Joni Mitchell and Crazy Horse member Nils Lofgren following suit.“Something resembling a bottom-up authoritarianism has become the norm,” Marshall writes in the essay.

Spotify has reportedly removed 70 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience that see the comedian using racist slurs.However, the controversial episodes about vaccine misinformation are still available to listen to despite Neil Young and Joni Mitchell removing their music from the platform.Yesterday (February 4) India.Aria shared a compilation of clips that featured Rogan using the N-word repeatedly and describing a Black neighbourhood as being similar to the Planet Of The Apes movie.Earlier in the week, the singer announced they too were pulling their music from Spotify, citing their hosting of Rogan’s podcast and his “language around race” as the reasons why.#DeleteSpotify Clarity: Artist give their LIVES making music that streams for a 28th of a penny. Yes 28th of a penny.

Video: NEWS OF THE WEEK: Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox shared engagement news to 'control the narrative' (Cover Video)Maluma forgot lyrics while singing duet with Jennifer Lopez for Marry MeSebastian Stan and Lily James 'never' saw each other out of character for Pam & TommyNeil Patrick Harris 'not sure' if he should appear on How I Met Your FatherRihanna shares sweet photo of baby bumpBritney Spears thanks lawyer for turning her 'life around'Simu Liu to delve into family's story with new memoirJanet Jackson offering up vintage pieces as part of charity fashion saleSnoop Dogg thanks couple for finding missing dogChanning Tatum 'traumatised' by Gambit movie production setbacksGigi Hadid has a secret TikTok accountJeff Zucker is leaving CNN after disclosing relationship with fellow executiveBeloved Italian film star Monica Vitti dead at 90India Arie pulls discography from Spotify, citing Joe Rogan's comments on raceDrug distributors charged in death of actor Michael K. WilliamsRock & Roll Hall of Fame announces 2022 nomineesIN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Whoopi Goldberg suspended from The View over Holocaust comments“I had to convince him that I was slightly more responsible and well-spoken and had other things to bring to the table besides being 18,” she later told Elle magazine.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorHow big of a liability vs. an asset will Joe Rogan prove to be for Spotify? A new survey sheds some light on which way the wind might blow given the spate of #DeleteSpotify and #CancelSpotify hashtags that blew up on social media in recent days — although similar past customer backlashes have resulted in minimal damage.About 19% of Spotify users said they have already canceled their service — or plan to — over the Rogan uproar, according to a Feb.

singers boycotted the music streamer because of his COVID-19 “misinformation” and anti-vaccine statements.Rogan — alongside returning guest Andy Stumpf, a retired Navy SEAL — addressed his break from Spotify, saying, “I put out a video a couple days ago; other than that, not much I can do.”He continued: “When you’re hearing it from people who are losing the information attention game — people like CNN — when they’re calling for other networks or shows to be censored or limited, it’s like, ‘Just do better.’”However, Rogan continued to spew controversial content in his first show back. He stated that lockdowns “don’t stop the spread” of the coronavirus and declared that Montreal has a “wild” 10 p.m.

Spotify over comments made on his podcast.Neil Young was the first to pull his music due to Rogan spreading “misinformation” about COVID-19, with Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash following in solidarity.Spotify CEO Daniel Ek responded to the row in an official statement, saying that Spotify would be adding COVID-19 content advisories to all relevant podcast episodes and Rogan himself has publicly addressed the backlash in a post discussing “some of the controversy that’s been going on over the past few days”.Now, Stewart has waded into the row on his own podcast The Problem With Jon Stewart saying artists’ actions towards Rogan were “a mistake”.“There’s no question that there is egregious misinformation that’s purposeful and hateful, and that being moderated is a credit to the platforms that run them,” Stewart said. “But this overreaction to Rogan, I think, is a mistake.”He pointed to an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience in which Rogan argued with Australian media personality Josh Szeps about whether COVID-19 itself or its vaccine was more likely to make patients vulnerable to myocarditis.When the two disagreed, Rogan offered to look it up, and when he was proven wrong he accepted it.As a result, Stewart believed that Rogan was open to other opinions and urged artists not to not “leave, abandon or censor” but instead “engage”.Meanwhile, India.Arie has become one of the latest artists to leave Spotify over Rogan’s “language around race”.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Band’s Robbie Robertson has joined the growing catalog-sale party and sold his music publishing, recorded interests and name, image & likeness rights to Iconoclast, a new firm founded by Olivier Chastan, the former CEO of Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group. The news was first reported by Music Business Worldwide.The acquisition covers Robertson’s entire six-decade career, from his early 1960s compositions with early outfits like the Hawks to his classic songs with the Band to his solo and film soundtrack material.Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources tell Variety the deal was for around $25 million, for a catalog including such iconic songs as “Up on Cripple Creek,” “The Shape I’m In,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and more.

India.Arie is clarifying her stance.

India.Arie has shared clips of Joe Rogan referring to Black neighbourhoods as “Planet of the Apes” and using the N-word in several episodes.This follows the singer’s recent announcement about leaving Spotify, citing their hosting of Rogan’s podcast and his “language around race” as the reasons why she pulled her music from the platform.Arie has now shared more about her decision, referring to specific episodes in the below video.“He shouldn’t even be uttering the word. Don’t even say it, under any context.

Jon Stewart is offering a defence of Joe Rogan.

wrote in a “Déjà Vu” statement.“While we always value alternate points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences. Until real action is taken to show that a concern for humanity must be balanced with commerce, we don’t want our music—or the music we made together—to be on the same platform.”Young started the trend when he pulled his solo catalog from the streaming service last week in protest of “fake information about vaccines” being spread on the popular “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Joni Michell, a contemporary of the 60s supergroup, followed suit on the heels of Young’s announcement and Nash joined the chorus of musicians requesting to flee the service on Tuesday, calling on Spotify to be “responsible and accountable” for its content.The band’s request applies to music the band released both with and without sometimes-member Young, as well as solo releases from Crosby and Stills, according to a press release.Crosby tweeted last month that removing his catalog might be difficult because he sold his recorded music and publishing rights. Music from CSNY, CSN and Crosby, Nash and Stills was still on Spotify as of Thursday night.Rogan, who has a $100 million deal with the streaming service, addressed accusations on Sunday that his show promoted unsanctioned COVID-19 treatments and claimed that vaccinations were harmful to some.“I’m not trying to promote misinformation.

Former Mumford & Sons band member Winston Marshall released a lengthy essay comparing calls for action against Joe Rogan’s podcast on Spotify to Soviet-era censorship.  On Thursday, Marshall released an essay on Substack with the title "When Artists Become the Censors" in which he criticizes artists like Neil Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren and India Arie, all of whom have pulled their music off Spotify until it addresses misinformation on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast.  In his essay, Marshall begins by discussing the state of music censorship in the Soviet Union in 1984 before comparing it to the conditions that Spotify is facing today as calls for it to pull Rogan’s work mount. He even called out Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who previously voiced their "concerns" about misinformation on Spotify.  "Of course, Spotify is a private company; they’re under no obligation to platform anybody.

Many of the top musicians in the industry are making their voices heard – by taking their voices away.

Daniel Ek said exclusive deals like one with Joe Rogan are critical to the company’s business, that he sometimes finds the podcast offensive, but that he doesn’t consider Spotify a “publisher” in terms of bearing responsibility for content it carries.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSpotify’s staff was up in arms about the company and co-founder/CEO Daniel Ek’s defense of Joe Rogan in a town hall meeting Wednesday that followed its middling quarterly report and subsequent stock drop, according to a report in the Verge that cites a leaked audio recording of the meeting.In Ek’s 15-minute speech, he positioned the company as both a platform and publisher, saying that “There are many things that Joe Rogan says that I strongly disagree with and find very offensive,” he said, but defended the company’s relationship with the controversial podcaster by stating, “If we want even a shot at achieving our bold ambitions, it will mean having content on Spotify that many of us may not be proud to be associated with. Not anything goes, but there will be opinions, ideas, and beliefs that we disagree with strongly and even makes us angry or sad.” Reps for Spotify did not immediately respond to Variety‘s requests for comment.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has defended the streaming platform, saying “it’s too early to know” the impact of the recent Joe Rogan row on the company’s future.Earlier this month, hundreds of scientists and medical professionals asked Spotify to address COVID misinformation on its platform, sparked by comments made on The Joe Rogan Experience.More than 270 members of the science and medical community signed the open letter, which called Rogan’s actions “not only objectionable and offensive but also medically and culturally dangerous”.The situation then made headline news, with Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Crazy Horse member Nils Lofgren and more pulling their music from the service after Young sparked a protest against the misinformation being spread about the virus on Rogan’s Spotify original podcast.Other public figures also weighed in on the debate, with Catherine Mayer – the widow of Gang Of Four‘s Andy Gill – criticising Spotify for platforming anti-vax sentiments. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, meanwhile, said in a statement that they had expressed concerns about misinformation to Spotify last year.

COVID which have been articulated on his podcast.Earlier this month, hundreds of scientists and medical professionals asked Spotify to address COVID misinformation on its platform, sparked by comments made on The Joe Rogan Experience.More than 270 members of the science and medical community signed the open letter, which called Rogan’s actions “not only objectionable and offensive but also medically and culturally dangerous”.Rogan took to social media on Monday (January 31) to publicly address the backlash himself in a post discussing “some of the controversy that’s been going on over the past few days”.He told fans on Instagram: “I don’t always get it right. I will do my best to try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people perspectives so we can maybe find a better point of view.A post shared by Joe Rogan (@joerogan)Admitting that it is a “strange responsibility to have this many views and listeners,” he promised “to do my best in the future to balance things out.”Supporting Rogan in the comments of his post, Dwayne Johnson wrote: “Great stuff here brother.

A steady stream of artists and other creators continue to join the Spotify boycott over the Joe Rogan podcast, although the streaming service’s boss Daniel Ek has told investors that it’s too soon to say to what extent that boycott is having a negative impact on subscriber numbers.The boycott was instigated by Neil Young, of course, who in turn was responding to a letter signed by 250+ scientists and medics which accused the Spotify exclusive podcast the Joe Rogan Experience of “a concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic”.After Young’s label confirmed it was removing the musician’s music from Spotify – and other artists piled onto social media pledging support and, in some cases, announcing that they were joining the boycott – both Ek and Rogan issued statements on Sunday evening, hoping to quell the rebellion.Ek said that Spotify actually had solid policies for dealing with any misinformation that appears in podcasts uploaded to the platform, but that it needed to be more transparent about those policies.He also committed to signpost COVID information approved by the scientific consensus alongside any podcast which, although adhering to Spotify’s misinformation policies, nevertheless contain controversial opinions about the pandemic.

Daniel Ek is opening up about the controversy surrounding Spotify in a conference call which announced new quarterly numbers.

Crosby, Stills & Nash have joined a growing number of acts who’ve demanded that their music be removed from Spotify amid the COVID controversy involving Joe Rogan.Members of the disbanded folk supergroup, which when joined by Neil Young were known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, have thrown their support behind Young who last month said that he wanted all his music pulled from the streaming platform.Young took particular aim at controversial podcaster Joe Rogan – a prominent skeptic of the COVID vaccine who has a $100million exclusivity contract with Spotify – pointing out the widespread misinformation shared through his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.Spotify complied with Young’s request, also announcing in a statement that it would add content advisories to all relevant podcast episodes.Now, Crosby, Stills & Nash have revealed their decision to back Young (Nash had already given his support to Young).pic.twitter.com/yyhHTQi7fm— David Crosby (@thedavidcrosby) February 2, 2022“We support Neil and we agree with him that there is dangerous disinformation being aired on Spotify’s Joe Rogan podcast,” the group wrote in a joint statement shared via Crosby’s social media.“While we always value alternate points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences.

Spotify’s Daniel Ek addressed questions from investors and reporters in a Q&A session following the release of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings, which showed an increase of 8 million paying subscribers but middling financial results — but reflected a period before the firestorm of controversy around Neil Young and other musicians’ requests to remove their music from the service in response to anti-vaccine comments made on Joe Rogan’s Spotify-hosted podcast.The earnings report contributed to a significant immediate drop in the company’s stock price in after-hours trading, even as Ek spoke to investors on a livestreamed Q&A. In after-hours trading after reporting Q4 results, Spotify’s stock — which historically has been highly volatile — fell as much as 22%.

Spotify said monthly active users rose 18% to 404 million for the fourth quarter of 2021 as premium subscribers hit 183 million and revenue grew 24%. It reported numbers as controversy swirls around Joe Rogan.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn Wednesday (Feb. 2), nearly a week after Joni Mitchell requested for her music to be removed from Spotify, several of her albums remain available on the streaming service.

India Arie is opening up on her decision to withdraw her music and “SongVersation” podcast from Spotify following controversy over Joe Rogan’s involvement with the platform.

Failure are the latest act to announce they’re pulling their music from Spotify following the ongoing COVID controversy involving Joe Rogan.Last month hundreds of scientists and medical professionals asked Spotify to address COVID misinformation on its platform, sparked by comments made on The Joe Rogan Experience.More than 270 members of the science and medical community signed the open letter, which called Rogan’s actions “not only objectionable and offensive but also medically and culturally dangerous”.Soon after, Neil Young demanded that his music be pulled from Spotify, asserting in a since-deleted open letter to his management that content like Rogan’s podcast “spread[s] false information about vaccines”.The streaming platform obliged, later confirming that Young’s content would indeed be removed from the platform.Other musicians and entertainers have since followed suit in removing their music and content from the platform including Janis Joplin, Graham Nash and Stewart Lee.Now, in a lengthy Facebook statement, cult alternative rockers Failure have announced that they too are planning to remove their music from Spotify in protest of the service platforming misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine as well as its overall business model.“Failure have wrestled with the question of Spotify and whether to have our newest music, which we control, on the platform,” the band began their statement.

Claudia Eller Co-Editor-in-ChiefWhen Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify over the audio streamer’s continued support of Joe Rogan, whom he accused of spreading “misinformation and lies” about COVID via his podcast interviews, there were some nasty “who cares?” tweets directed at the folk-rock icon. But the haters should care that this deadly pandemic has been raging for nearly two years and it ain’t over yet.Young has been adamant for some time that artists shouldn’t be touring because of COVID; he even pulled out of a Farm Aid benefit, a charity he co-founded.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDavid Crosby and Stephen Stills have joined Neil Young and Graham Nash in asking their labels to remove their collective recordings from Spotify.According to the announcement, in support of stopping harmful misinformation about Covid-19 on Joe Rogan’s Spotify-hosted podcast, the musicians have decided to remove their records from the streaming platform including the recordings of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby-Nash, as well as Crosby’s and Stills’ solo projects. Nash has already begun the process to take down his solo recordings.In a unified statement, the band members commented, “We support Neil and we agree with him that there is dangerous disinformation being aired on Spotify’s Joe Rogan podcast. While we always value alternate points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences. Until real action is taken to show that a concern for humanity must be balanced with commerce, we don’t want our music – or the music we made together – to be on the same platform.” Reps for Spotify did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.Following a similar request by Joni Mitchell, the move reunites the five artists, who have been friends and collaborators since the 1960s, in a stance that they certainly could not have imagined 50 years ago.

David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash have issued a statement supporting former bandmate Neil Young in seeking the removal of their music from Spotify in protest of podcaster Joe Rogan.

Stewart Lee is the latest artist to remove his work from Spotify in protest of COVID misinformation being spread on Joe Rogan’s podcast.Earlier this month, hundreds of scientists and medical professionals asked Spotify to address COVID misinformation on its platform, sparked by comments made on The Joe Rogan Experience.More than 270 members of the science and medical community signed the open letter, which called Rogan’s actions “not only objectionable and offensive but also medically and culturally dangerous”.Spotify previously hosted Lee’s stand-up albums ’41s Best Stand Up Ever’, ‘If You Prefer A Milder Comedian Please Ask For One’ and ‘Carpet Remnant World’.Announcing his decision to boycott the platform, he said in a statement obtained by Chortle: “I am fully aware this will make no financial difference to Spotify whatsoever, but for too long internet platforms have been able to spread lies with impunity, free from the checks and balances that govern traditional publishers and broadcasters, and their efforts to correct this still do not go for enough.“Perhaps artists big and small can band together to do something to change this where the money men won’t.”Rogan publicly addressed the backlash himself recently, in a new video where he discusses “some of the controversy that’s been going on over the past few days.”He told fans on Instagram: “I don’t always get it right.

under fire for using his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, to spread COVID-19 misinformation. Spotify, which exclusively hosts Rogan’s podcast, has refused to censor him — leading multiple artists to pull their catalogs from the streaming audio service in response.But in a recent episode, Rogan once again turned his attention to transgender people, after previous episodes in which he and his guests have compared being trans to having anorexia, have pushed debunked claims about medical procedures on trans youth, and decried that they can’t use anti-trans slurs.Speaking to former psychology professor and right-wing provocateur Jordan Peterson on Jan.