SiriusXM Relaunches Neil Young Radio, a Day After His Music Was Removed From Spotify
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWasting no time in the wake of Neil Young’s decision to remove his music from Spotify to protest the anti-vaccine views expressed on Joe Rogan’s podcast on the service, SiriusXM has relaunched Neil Young Radio, a satellite and streaming music channel featuring music and exclusive stories from Neil Young.Following its launch in December as a limited-run channel, Neil Young Radio now returns to its limited engagement slot on SiriusXM’s Deep Tracks, channel 27, for 7 days starting today, and for a month streaming on the SXM App.SiriusXM hosts multiple conservative radio shows that espouse views similar to or more outspoken than Rogan’s — particularly on SiriusXM Patriot channel, which features Sean Hannity, Breitbart News, Andrew Wilkow and others — however, satellite radio is covered by different broadcast licenses than streaming services and a rights-holder would not be able to prevent its music from being broadcast. Streaming services host content at the discretion of the rights holder; since Warner Music holds the rights to Young’s music, he had to request the company remove his catalog from Spotify.