Neil Young pulls his music from Spotify over vaccine misinformation

USC students share their thoughts about notable artist Neil Young removing his music from Spotify after an ultimatum regarding the Joe Rogan podcast. Young took his discography down citing vaccine disinformation from Rogan and his guests.

Spotify has since announced that they will display warnings before podcasts that may contain COVID-19 misinformation. Some, like USC student Arjun Bharjava, believe the concern is far beyond what’s on the surface.

ARJUN BHARJAVA: But I side with Spotify. I think they made an appropriate decision given the time that we’re in, especially given how many people are kind of starting to just forget that immunocompromised people exist.

Dina Pasha, a fan of Young, expressed mixed feelings now that she will not have access to his music on Spotify, but supports his decision to act on his beliefs.

DINA PASHA: He’s definitely proving a point, like saying a message and kind of standing up for what he believes in. I don’t really think this is why he shouldn’t do it, but, like, as a fan, it’s kind of like, oh man, like, I really enjoy listening to your music. And like Spotify is just like a really accessible platform. And so like, him kind of taking it his music down from there. Like, obviously, he’s standing up for what he believes in.

Some students such as Kevin Frost still want to believe Spotify acts in good faith, but are still nuanced enough to say that companies like Spotify are compelled to fight back against disinformation, especially given the situation regarding public health such as COVID-19

KEVIN FROST: I think it’s definitely fair for Neil Young to take that stance. I mean, it’s his music and he’s standing up for something he cares a lot about. And I definitely think it, you know, I agree with the fact that we should be monitoring and kind of like regulating the services that are providing us with information so I can definitely get behind him on that front.

Frost agrees with Spotify’s decision to put warnings on podcasts discussing COVID-19.

KEVIN FROST: I think there should definitely be some kind of, you know, warning, and I think these networks that are allowing information to run rampant should definitely monitor what’s going on on their networks and help people make educated decisions, at least to remind people at least have kind of checkpoints around their platforms that they need to make sure their information is reliable.

Spotify responded by creating a COVID-19 information hub while Joe Rogan vows to strike more balance within his show.