A controversy involving coronavirus misinformation on Spotify is gaining momentum this weekend with several musicians joining in Neil Young and saying they want their music removed from the streaming platform if it continues to host the provocative podcast in Joe Rogan.
the seesaw Nils Lofgren became the latest artist to join the protest launched by bandmate Neil Young on Saturday, saying in a statement that he too would “cut ties with Spotify” and called on “all musicians, artists and music lovers everywhere” to do the same . Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell also said he planned to remove his music from Spotify in solidarity with Young “and the global medical and scientific communities”.
Separately, Brene Brown, a professor and researcher at the University of Houston who hosts the popular podcasts Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead on Spotify, tweeted on Saturday that she “will not be posting any more podcasts until further notice” but did not has not listed a specific reason or if the ad is related to hype. The Washington Post could not immediately reach Brown for comment.
The latest developments have increased pressure on Spotify to weigh how it will assess promoting free speech for its creators against the impact some may have on public health during the pandemic. The company is on track to dominate the podcast space and face growing scrutiny as it increasingly attracts anti-vaccine activists who clash with the misinformation policies of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
And competitors seem to be enjoying the noise: On Friday the 28th, Apple Music called itself “the home of Neil Young” in a tweet promoting its catalog.
Lofgren, a guitarist best known as a member of Crazy Horse’s band E Stre and Bruce Spingsteen, and Mitchell, in their statements, said they stood in solidarity with Young, who demanded that his music be removed from the streaming platform due to of the presence of “false information about vaccines” in some of its content.
The letter, which was posted on his website and later deleted, quotes Joe Rogan, who runs The Joe Rogan Experience, as part of Young’s issues with Spotify. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” the music legend wrote.
Soon after, Spotify began removing Young’s music from its catalog, including his best-known hits like Heart of Gold, Harvest Moon and Rockin’ in the free world.
Mitchell, whose famous album Blue just turned 50, wrote on his website on Friday that he “has decided to remove all” of his music from Spotify because of “irresponsible people spreading lies that are costing people”.
Spotify, in a prior statement provided to The Post, acknowledged the balancing act. “We want the entire world of music and audio content to be available to the Spotify user. With that comes a great responsibility to balance the safety of listeners and the freedom of creators,” a doorman said. -word of Spotify.
“We have detailed content policies and have removed over 20,000 Covid-19 related podcast episodes since the start of the pandemic,” the statement continued. “We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope he returns soon.”
Rogan, whose wildly popular podcast was exclusively acquired by Spotify in 2020, questioned the need for healthy young people to get vaccinated against coronavirus and hosted guests promoting conspiracy theories about the pandemic .
Earlier this month, 270 experts sent an open letter to Spotify to “immediately establish a clear and public policy to moderate misinformation on the platform”.
Experts have particularly criticized an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience in which Rogan interviews Robert Malone, a doctor skeptical of coronavirus vaccines, as an example of a podcast “with a troubling history of spreading misinformation, including by regarding” the coronavirus pandemic.
The episode “is not the only transgression that has taken place on Spotify’s platform, but a relevant example of the platform’s failure to mitigate the damage it causes,” the experts wrote.
Young, in a statement posted to his website on Wednesday, said he “became aware” of the prevalence of pandemic misinformation on Spotify “by reading that more than 200 doctors had joined forces, pointing out the dangerous and potentially mortals found on Spotify “Spotify Schedule”.
“I am happy and proud to stand in solidarity with frontline healthcare workers who risk their lives every day to help others,” Neil Young wrote on Friday.
Contributed by Travis M. Andrews of The Washington Post to the story.
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