Get your Neil Young streams in while you can — Spotify is removing the folk-rock singer's music after he demanded the service choose between him or platform-exclusive controversial podcast host Joe Rogan, who Young says is spreading COVID-19 misinformation, The Wall Street Journal reports.
"We want all the world's music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators," said a Spotify spokesperson of the dilemma. "We regret Neil's decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon."
On Tuesday, Young penned an open letter to his manager and label asking them to remove his library from Spotify, alleging the platform causes harm by hosting Rogan's podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. "They can have Rogan or Young," Young wrote in his now-removed letter. "Not both."
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His request also arrived after a group of scientists and public health experts urged Spotify to remove a Dec. 31 episode of Rogan's show in which they claimed "several falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines" were promoted, adds The New York Times.
The music's removal, for which the formal request arrived Wednesday, "could take several hours to take effect across Spotify's service across the world," notes the Journal.
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