SiriusXM announced that it is bringing back “Neil Young Radio” for a week starting Thursday following news that Neil Young’s music is leaving Spotify.
Young posted a public letter to his website Monday demanding that Spotify either remove content from podcaster Joe Rogan or take his music off its service due to concerns about Rogan’s comments on COVID-19. Spotify opted to remove Young’s music Wednesday after it rejected his ultimatum and Young’s record label, Warner Music Group’s Warner Records, made the request to pull his content.
SPOTIFY REMOVES NEIL YOUNG’S MUSIC AFTER JOE ROGAN COMPLAINT
“When you have an opportunity to present an iconic artist still at the height of his creativity, you don’t hesitate to do it, again,” Steve Blatter, senior vice president and general manager of music programming at SiriusXM, said in a statement. “Outspoken, brave, and a true music icon, Neil Young is in a rare class of artists, and we are honored to collaborate with him to create a special audio experience for his fans.”
The company said it first started Neil Young Radio as a limited-run channel last December. The channel featured Young’s solo music and collaborations with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, a rock group in which Young was a member.
Neil Young Radio will be on channel 27 for a week and will be available for streaming on the SiriusXM app for a month. In addition to playing some of his famous songs, Young teased that he also wanted to introduce listeners to “some stuff that no one’s ever heard before,” according to a press release.
In his open letter Monday, Young accused Rogan of pushing COVID-19 misinformation on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. He argued that Spotify has a “responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform.”
Rogan has invited guests on his show such as Dr. Robert Malone, who has cast doubt on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, leading to criticism from some medical experts. A spokesperson for Spotify told the Wall Street Journal that the company was trying to provide “freedom for creators.” It noted that it has taken down over 20,000 podcasts on its platform related to the pandemic.
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Spotify and Rogan announced a multiyear licensing deal in 2020 for full episodes of Rogan’s podcast to be published on the platform. Rogan’s podcast is one of the most popular in the country. Spotify said it was the most popular podcast of 2021 on the platform.
While Spotify has repeatedly resisted pressure to remove Rogan from its platform, the company has deleted over 40 episodes of his show, according to the Wrap.
