Graham Nash and India Arie join Neil Young’s Spotify boycott over ‘problematic’ Rogan
Two more musicians, Graham Nash and India Arie, have vowed to remove their music from Spotify after Neil Young renounced the streaming platform last week.
Nash declared his support for his Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmate Tuesday after “having heard the COVID disinformation spread by Joe Rogan on Spotify.” Young previously pulled much of his music library from the app after Spotify failed to cut ties with Rogan, a controversial podcast host known for fueling conspiracy theories about COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
“I am requesting that my solo recordings be removed from the service,” Nash said in a statement. “There is a difference between being open to varying viewpoints on a matter and knowingly spreading false information which some 270 medical professionals have derided as not only false but dangerous.
Neil Young did society a big favor by targeting Joe Rogan’s COVID lies.
“Likewise, there is a difference between misinformation, in which one is unaware that what is being said is false, versus disinformation, which is knowingly false and intended to mislead and sway public opinion,” Nash added. “The opinions publicized by Rogan are so dishonest and unsupported by solid facts that Spotify becomes an enabler in a way that costs people their lives.”
On Instagram, Arie announced Monday that she has decided to yank her music and podcast, “SongVersation,” from Spotify after “Young opened a door that I MUST walk through.”
“I believe in freedom of speech,” Arie wrote in a statement. “However, I find Joe Rogan problematic for reasons OTHER than his Covid interviews.
Ava DuVernay, Joni Mitchell and India Arie have abandoned Spotify in the wake of Neil Young’s protest against the streaming platform and podcast host Joe Rogan.
“FOR ME ITS ALSO HIS language around race. What I am talking about is RESPECT — who gets it and who doesn’t,” the R&B singer-songwriter added. (Rogan has repeatedly said the N-word on his podcast and has been criticized for racist remarks.)
Arie also called out Spotify for “paying musicians a Fraction of a penny? and [Rogan] $100M?” In 2020, the streaming giant struck a multiyear licensing deal with Rogan that is estimated to be worth $100 million.
Other entertainment figures who have forsaken the streaming platform in the wake of Young’s boycott include guitarist Nils Lofgren, bestselling author Brené Brown and singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell.
“This shows the type of company they are and the company that they keep,” Arie continued. “I’m tired.”
Spotify isn’t new to controversy. Here’s a rundown of the music streamer’s history of feuds with artists and songwriters over royalties, privacy and more.
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