Thanks also to Apple Music (I LOVE APPLE) and Qobuz for sticking with my high res music.”Įk alluded to the Young-Rogan controversy in an earnings announcement on 2 February, saying: “Spotify is already implementing several first of its kind measures to help combat misinformation and provide greater transparency. He tweeted: “Amazon has been leading the pack in bringing hi-res audio to the masses, and it’s a great place to enjoy my entire catalog in the highest quality available. Young has since been pointing his fans towards streaming companies with their own ethical controversies: Amazon and Apple.

Other artists including Joni Mitchell joined his protest, with much of Mitchell’s catalogue now removed from Spotify. Selling lies for money.” He cited Joe Rogan, host of the world’s most popular podcast, who has been widely criticised for allowing misinformation about Covid-19 to proliferate on his show. Young, a consistently outspoken figure during his rock career who has taken stands against US presidents Richard Nixon, George Bush Jr and Donald Trump, left Spotify last month, describing it as “the home of life-threatening Covid misinformation. He addressed “baby boomers”, saying: “70% of the country’s financial assets are in your hands compared with just about 5% for millennials. He also encouraged readers to divest from four US banks – Chase, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo – “for their continued funding of the fossil fuel damage even as the global temperature keeps climbing”. The only goals stated by Ek are about numbers – not art, not creativity.

Get out of that place before it eats up your soul.

To the workers at Spotify, I say Daniel Ek is your big problem – not Joe Rogan. To the musicians and creators in the world, I say this: You must be able to find a better place than Spotify to be the home of your art.

Neil young spotify statement