“We Love Neil” says Apple Music, just a day after Spotify Music dropped Neil Young after the artist requested to be removed from the service. Young was anxious to get off of a platform he believed was spreading misinformation surrounding COVID-19.
The rockstar was influenced by a public letter published by hundreds of scientists, professors, and public health professionals who asked Spotify to develop a policy to handle misinformation surrounding COVID-19. Their letter cited the streaming service’s top economic grosser Joe Rogan, who hosts the “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, which has been accused of spreading falsehoods and conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19.
Young was none too pleased that his music was on the same platform as someone who spreads misinformation on COVID-19.
“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 rock star wrote a letter to his management.
After Spotify dropped Neil Young, Apple Music was quick to swoop in and cause more of a headache for Spotify’s public relations team. Last year’s estimates have shown that while Spotify holds 35% of the world’s music subscription market in the palm of their hand, Apple only holds onto 16% of that same market. Perhaps in siding with Young, Apple hopes to gain some of Spotify’s 172 million paying subscribers.
The hashtag #DeleteSpotify went viral after news broke of the break-up. Some Twitter users even said they canceled their Spotify subscriptions in support of the “Heart of Gold” legend. Apple Music sent out push notifications, playlists, and a banner on their website which reads “We Love Neil.”
“The Joe Rogan Experience” is Spotify’s most popular podcast in the U.S., Canada, and the UK. In 2020, Rogan signed an exclusive deal to Spotify for a whopping 100 million dollars.
The episode that prompted medical professionals to take action against the streaming service features Dr. Robert Malone, who was suspended from Twitter for spreading misinformation about the Pfizer vaccine. YouTube, which is owned by Alphabet, formerly Google, also removed the episode in question, a year after it pledged to remove all misinformation regarding vaccines. While on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Malone compared pandemic policies to the Holocaust.
But while Neil Young is now safe from the threat of misinformation promoted by Joe Rogan, he may have to watch out for Steve Bannon’s podcast “Bannon’s War Room,” which is available on Apple’s Podcasts app. Bannon’s podcast aired an episode today which also features the deplatformed Dr. Malone, one of the key instigators in the misinformation scrimmage between Young and Spotify.