Neil Young vs. Spotify
One of the things I like about having a blog is that I can say pretty much whatever I want. In a non-narcissistic way, of course. When it comes to any sort of content creation, or really anything at all, there will always be people who disagree with you or don’t like what you have to offer. That’s all fine and dandy. After all, we all have different opinions which is what makes the world interesting and how we learn from each other. I like chocolate ice cream, you like vanilla. I think we can talk about the differences over our respective cones.
There's a specific type of person that we can't talk about our opinions with. Haters. There are two types of haters. The haters that simply don’t like something and move on with their lives and the Haters that seek to destroy the thing they hate or convert them to their beliefs. We all know people who can’t agree to disagree and try to force their beliefs onto you without listening to you. Neil Young seems to be a Hater... or is he? That's for you to decide.
Recently, Young asked Spotify to choose between podcast host Joe Rogan and him, claiming that Rogan spreads Covid misinformation on his podcast and Young doesn’t want to be associated with the same platform as him. Spotify refused to bend to the ultimatum so Young pulled his discography. As of now, Joni Mitchell and a few others have followed Young’s lead, which dare I say, is proving to be fruitless.
Before the fight with Joe Rogan, I can’t remember ever hearing Neil Young’s name. For a second, I thought of Sweet Caroline, but that’s Neil Diamond. Apologies to the Neils. The truth is, Young is a different generation’s music that teens and young adults of today aren’t that interested in. Yet, for the first time in years he’s getting major headlines with his name on them by poking Spotify the bear with a stick.
Publicity stunt? Ehhh. I think it’s half and half. Young seems to believe what he’s espousing, but pulling your discography from Spotify is a major move that leads me to wonder if it’s some weird publicity move. It’s kind of working…at least for now.
On every Neil Young article, Joe Rogan's name is mentioned too. While I’m not a Joe Rogan fan, he is one of the most popular podcasters that's now getting thousands of dollars in free marketing without lifting a finger. With his millions of listeners per episode, Spotify signed a multi million dollar contract with Rogan to keep his full episodes exclusive to the platform. For that reason alone, it would be absolute insanity for Spotify to drop him. With free advertising coming from this controversy, I'm sure Rogan's found himself new fans.
Rogan’s raking it in with Spotify, but when it comes to Neil Young… not so much. While Spotify isn’t the only way that Young makes money off his music, it is a large portion which is why I find it almost amusing that he sold half his songwriting copyrights a few months ago. Now that he’s pulled his discography from Spotify, his partners are losing 60% of revenue that came from streaming on the platform. That’s gotta suck.
While Young claims that Rogan spread dangerous misinformation about Covid, it’s not a true claim. While Rogan has been attacked before for his opinions, the flame that started this fire was two episodes with doctors that deviated from the mainstream narrative surrounding Covid. After the dispute settled down a bit, Rogan posted a nine minute clip where he pointed out that the term “misinformation” isn’t an accurate word because over the course of the pandemic, information has changed at a rapid pace. Things we thought were true proved to be not and vice versa. He points out that he’s presented the mainstream narrative on his podcast as well and he wants to have conversations with different opinions. He was also supportive of Spotify’s decision to put a disclaimer on Covid podcasts.
Is Neil Young a total idiot or a martyr for the sake of a larger cause? Depends who you ask. I read an article by Tim Ingham that has an interesting perspective. With Spotify dominating the streaming industry, it seems like a dangerous career move to pull away from them. This article suggests that Young is brave for turning his back on the streaming giant. Ingham writes that maybe Young will inspire others to do the same and take back some of the power that Spotify wields over both artists and consumers. Long story short, Spotify isn’t infallible and there’s been rising competition that may force the company to change their ways. Only time will tell.
Understanding that what Rogan says is put forth as opinion, is it free speech or a danger? At what level of influence do you become dangerous for your opinions? Who decides what opinions are dangerous?
While there may be some answers to those questions, the world isn't black and white. Regardless of how you feel regarding Spotify’s decisions, I think there’s a larger question here. Is Spotify responsible for policing content? If they did pull Rogan, where does the line get drawn? Does every podcast need to be monitored? Who decides what's acceptable or not? What about songs that talk about partaking in illegal activities? Should those be available for consumption? Or how about artists that are known abusers (ahem, Chris Brown)?
None of these decisions are simple. Spotify’s taking the logical route. Let the market decide.