Neil Young to Re-Release Music on Spotify After Departing Over Joe Rogan Controversy

Neil Young, the iconic folk-rock artist, has announced his return to Spotify, marking a significant turnaround since his departure in protest in early 2022. The decision to remove his discography from the streaming platform stemmed from his objections to Spotify’s hosting of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience,’ where false claims regarding COVID-19 were propagated.

In a statement posted on his website, Young, 78, revealed his intention to reintroduce his entire music catalog on Spotify. This decision comes in light of The Joe Rogan Experience no longer being exclusive to Spotify, now also available on Apple Music and Amazon Music.

Expressing his stance on Spotify’s audio quality, Young stated, “Spotify, the #1 streaming of low res music in the world — Spotify where you get less quality than we made, will now be home of my music again.”

Acknowledging the presence of similar content on Apple and Amazon platforms, Young explained his return to Spotify, emphasizing the importance of his music reaching a broader audience. He expressed hopes for an improvement in Spotify’s sound quality, aligning with the high-resolution presentation of his discography on other platforms like Tidal and Qobuz.

While Young did not specify the exact timeline for his albums’ return to Spotify, he concluded with optimism for the platform’s potential transition to higher resolution audio and urged them to prioritize quality.

The decision to rejoin Spotify follows Rogan’s announcement in February that his podcast would be available on multiple platforms. Young’s initial departure from Spotify in protest of Rogan’s dissemination of misinformation about vaccines and COVID-19 underscores his commitment to holding platforms accountable for the content they host.

Young’s actions were part of a larger movement, with other artists and professionals also speaking out against misinformation on Spotify. Despite the challenges, Young remains steadfast in his advocacy for truth and quality in music streaming platforms.