About two weeks after demanding that Spotify either remove his music or ban Joe Rogan from its platform, Neil Young appears to be shifting the blame for COVID-19 “disinformation” from Rogan to Spotify CEO Dylan Ek. In a statement posted Monday on Young’s website, he told Spotify workers “Ek is your big problem – not Joe Rogan.”
“Ek pulls the strings,” Young said. “Get out of that place before it eats up your soul. The only goals stated by EK are about numbers – not art, not creativity.” He had a similar message to “musicians and creators in the world,” saying “you must be able to find a better place than Spotify to be the home of your art.”
It appears some artists are way ahead of Young. Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren have tried pulling their songs from Spotify, and Brené Brown is pressing pause on producing more Spotify content. Then there’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who have a $25 million Spotify podcast deal. The couple said they’ve been expressing concerns over COVID-19 misinformation to the company for months.
Rogan and the Spotify CEO have been in damage control mode since Spotify decided to remove Young’s music. Ek released a statement announcing the company’s approach to COVID-19, which included the new disclaimers. Meanwhile, Rogan took to Instagram to apologize for upsetting artists with his content. He agreed with the changes Spotify made.
Reports indicate Spotify also removed more than 100 episodes of “The Joe Rogan Experience” from its platform, some of which included racial slurs and commentary from conspiracy theorists.
Young’s Monday statement didn’t just target the Spotify CEO. Young also urged people to withdraw their money from big American banks “for their continued funding of the fossil fuel damage even as the global temperature keeps climbing.” These banks include:
- Chase
- Citi
- Bank of America
- Wells Fargo
“Join me as I move my money away from the damage causers or you will unintentionally be one of them,” Young said. “You have the power to change the world. We can do it together. Your grandchildren will thank you in history.”
