Well played Neil. I missed you. Welcome back jackass!

Looks like Joe has the same first amendment rights that you enjoy. Go f-ck yourself. Haha.

BTW...I'm a huge Rogan fan...even if I don't agree with him all the time. Thought provoking is good.

Neil Young Will Return to Spotify After Two-Year Boycott Over Joe Rogan

Singer-songwriter says he had no choice but to return to streaming platform due to wider distribution of Rogan’s podcast

By Gareth Vipers, WS

Updated March 13, 2024 4:19 pm ET

Neil Young boycotted Spotify in 2022 over what he deemed was misinformation spread by Joe Rogan’s podcast.

Neil Young said he will allow his music to return to Spotify, two years after the singer pulled his catalog over opposition to the streaming service’s relationship with podcaster Joe Rogan.

Young penned an open letter to his manager and label in 2022 asking them to remove his music from the platform, saying it was spreading fake information about Covid-19 vaccines through Rogan’s show.

Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported Rogan had reached a deal that would allow his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” to be distributed more widely, a change from his prior exclusive deal with Spotify. Rogan’s fresh deal—estimated to be worth as much as $250 million over its multiyear term—allows his show to be distributed across several podcast platforms.

Announcing the return of his music to the service, the “Heart of Gold” and “Harvest Moon” singer-songwriter said he now had no choice but to go back to Spotify.

“My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify,” he said in a statement on his website Tuesday, without mentioning Rogan by name.

“I cannot leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers,” he added.

Young’s record label is Warner Music Group’s Warner Records, which licenses and distributes his music to streaming services. Spotify and representatives for Young didn’t respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Warner referred to Young’s statement.

While Young’s label legally has control over how and where his music is distributed, it is typical for a record company to take an artist’s wishes into account. An act of Young’s cachet in particular tends to have more control over their career and creative output.

From the archives: Joe Rogan addressed the growing backlash against him and Spotify, stemming from accusations that his show spread false information about Covid-19 vaccines.

Young has had a long career as a successful solo artist and as a member of Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The Canadian American was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 as a solo artist and in 1997 as a member of Buffalo Springfield.

In 2022, Young’s crusade against what he deemed misinformation spread by Rogan led to other artists, including Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, David Crosby and India Arie, pulling their music from Spotify. Crosby, Stills & Nash and Arie have since returned to the platform.

“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,” Young wrote in the letter in 2022, which was later removed from his website.

Before the removal of his catalog, Young had 2.4 million followers and over six million monthly listeners on the platform.

At the time, Rogan’s podcast was under an exclusive licensing deal with Spotify that tied his payout to audience-number targets. It is estimated to land at around $180 million to $220 million by the end of its term this year.

Rogan’s show has been Spotify’s most listened to podcast for the last four years, according to the company. But it has also created tensions for Spotify. Shortly after the initial licensing deal was announced, some employees at the streaming company expressed concern about the podcast’s content, citing material they felt was anti-transgender.

Joe Rogan’s new deal with Spotify allows his podcast to be distributed more widely.

In 2022, Rogan apologized for the growing backlash against him and Spotify, and pledged to be more balanced and informed about controversial topics and guests. “If I pissed you off, I’m sorry,” he said in a 10-minute Instagram video at the time.

Spotify created a Covid-19 information hub in response to Young’s objections and reiterated that it wanted to embrace a diverse range of voices and differing opinions.

News Corp’s Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, has a content partnership with Spotify.

Anne Steele contributed to this article.