Musician Neil Young wanted Spotify to choose between him and its controversial star podcaster Joe Rogan. And it looks like the streaming service chose the latter as it is in the process of removing Young's extensive catalogue from Spotify. The artist made a formal request for its removal on January 26, Wednesday, and by the time you read this, it might no longer be on the platform.
Young was outraged by what he claims is the platform spreading misinformation about vaccines through podcasters like Rogan, who has episodes on his show containing misinformation, including an interview with Dr. Robert Malone, who claims that "psychosis" led people to believe vaccines were effective.
Spotify didn't give reasons for its decision but said it "regret[ted]" Young's decision and hope he'd come back "soon." As Engadget speculated, it probably has something to do with the investment it made in Rogan. The company is believed to have paid over US$100 million to land a multi-year distribution deal with Rogan. If it pulls Rogan's episodes, the company could suffer financial and legal consequences.
Spotify also wanted to defend its anti-misinformation practices, claiming it accepted a "great responsibility" in juggling listener safety and creator freedom. It said it pulled over 20,000 podcast COVID-related episodes since the pandemic began. But as Engadget pointed out, that doesn't seem to include that aforementioned Rogan episode.