Singer Neil Young changed his mind and announced his music will return to Spotify. His decision comes after deciding to remove his music from the platform in an attempt to boycott other celebrities such as Joe Rogan, whose podcast topped the charts and was exclusive to Spotify. In 2022, Young removed his entire catalog from the world's largest streaming company.
At that time, The Guardian reported, Young called Spotify “the home of life-threatening COVID misinformation.” Likewise, Rogan acknowledged that he had made some mistakes and committed to having more balanced content.
"My music would have very little streaming output"
Young posted a statement on his official website announcing the news. He said that his attempt to silence the conservative on digital platforms would result in his music having "very little streaming outlet to music lovers." As of February, The Joe Rogan Experience podcast is no longer exclusive to Spotify. Rogan signed a deal to make his podcast available on other platforms such as YouTube and Amazon.
"My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify. I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all, so I have returned to Spotify," Young said.
Despite his return, Young criticized the quality of music on Spotify. For this reason, he asked Spotify to improve its services. "I have returned to Spotify, in sincere hopes that Spotify sound quality will improve and people will be able to hear and feel all the music as we made it."
