After a two-year boycott, Neil Young is putting his music back on Spotify. However, it's not a joyous occasion for Young: the legendary artist is only putting his music back on the platform because Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music have adopted “the same disinformation podcast features” he opposed at Spotify.
Writing on his website, Young admitted he could not boycott every streaming service because his “music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all.” He also continued his ongoing criticism of the sound quality of Spotify streaming, calling it “the #1 streamer of low res music in the world” and urging the platform to add a high-resolution tier.
Check out our selection of free stations streaming Neil Young music at Live365.com.
Back in 2022, Young removed his music from Spotify to protest its exclusive deal with Joe Rogan. His podcasts now appear on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and YouTube. “I first learned of this problem by reading that 200 plus doctors had joined forces, taking on the dangerous life-threatening COVID falsehoods found in Spotify programming,” Young wrote at the time. “I realized I could not continue to support Spotify life threatening misinformation to the music loving public.”
Spotify responded it had “removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic” and regretted Young’s decision. Rogan also apologized and pledged to “balance things out” with “experts with differing opinions.” Last month, Rogan renewed his contract with Spotify, this time without an exclusivity clause.
As for other Neil Young news, the singer-songwriter is setting off on a North American tour next month – following the vinyl re-release of Dume back in February. You can find tickets here.
Check out our selection of free stations streaming Neil Young music at Live365.com.
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Article Image: Neil Young belts into a microphone and plays guitar during a 2019 concert. (benhoudijk via Depositphotos.)
