Neil Young may have gotten something started.
On Jan. 24, the veteran rock star made public his intention to pull his music off the streaming service Spotify to protest its mainlining of COVID-19 misinformation into the brain stems of its subscribers.
Other prominent musicians have followed suit, notably Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren. David Crosby, who collaborated with Young in the group Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, expressed support but said that he didn’t have the power to join Young’s boycott because he had sold the rights to his own music catalog.
Even the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — Harry and Meghan, to you — have been “expressing concerns” to Spotify about COVID-19 misinformation on the platform, with which they have a deal. (The Obamas, who also have a podcast distribution deal with Spotify, have been silent, however.)
Young, 76, specifically targeted his protest at Spotify’s marquee podcaster, Joe Rogan, who has been a prime purveyor of dangerous COVID-19 hooey.
“I am doing this because Spotify is spreading false information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them,” Young wrote in a letter briefly posted on his website. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.” (A slightly different version of his statement is posted there now.)
Spotify made its choice, leaving the Rogan podcasts up and removing Young’s music. The streaming service has asserted that it’s merely a platform for musicians and...
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