Neil Young Catalog to be Removed from Spotify Following Joe Rogan Dispute

Neil Young is getting his wish of having his catalog removed from Spotify after issuing a letter to his management demanding the streaming service remove his music over vaccine misinformation on the Spotify-exclusive podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, a Spotify spokesperson said, "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. We have detailed content policies in place and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID since the start of the pandemic. We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon."

As previously reported, Young's letter to his management stated, in part, "I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them. Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule."

He added, "I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform. They can have Rogan or Young. Not both."

The Joe Rogan Experience has come under fire multiple times during the coronavirus pandemic for spreading misinformation. Most recently, Rogan had Dr. Robert Malone on a December 31, 2021 episode of the podcast. Dr. Malone has been banned from Twitter due to spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. The episode resulted in hundreds of medical professionals and educators issuing an open letter to Spotify asking the platform to establish a policy on misinformation. The letter read, in part, "By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions, Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals."

The letter also mentions, "Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Rogan has repeatedly spread misleading and false claims on his podcast, provoking distrust in science and medicine. He has discouraged vaccination in young people and children, incorrectly claimed that mRNA vaccines are “gene therapy,” promoted off-label use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 (contrary to FDA warnings), and spread a number of unsubstantiated conspiracy theories...This is not only a scientific or medical concern; it is a sociological issue of devastating proportions and Spotify is responsible for allowing this activity to thrive on its platform."