Why did Neil Young return to Spotify? Music icon to put his music back two years after Joe Rogan boycott

Neil Young, the Canadian-American singer and songwriter, has returned his music to Spotify after keeping it off the streaming platform for more than two years. The boycott was due to Joe Rogan's podcast.

In January 2022, the 78-year-old claimed that The Joe Rogan Experience podcast was spreading vaccine misinformation, which was solely broadcast on Spotify. A group of 270 scientists and healthcare professionals also backed the musician. However, Young returned to Spotify on March 12, 2024, writing on his website,

"My decision comes as music services Apple, Amazon, Qobuz, and Tidal, all high res, have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify. I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all, so I have returned to Spotify."

Rogan has made a new deal that will allow his podcast to be streamed on other platforms including Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.

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Neil Young to put his music back on Spotify after boycott over Joe Rogan

Neil Young had told Spotify to remove his entire catalogue including hits like Harvest Moon and Heart of Gold, back in 2022. Other artists including Joni Mitchell and India Arie also left the platform after the singer.

The reason for their departure was The Joe Rogan Experience podcast which was accused by Neil Young of spreading “fake information” about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines through their Spotify streams.

Neil Young announced his return to the world’s biggest streaming company on Tuesday. The singer has been a long-time advocate of high-quality audio and had launched a rival to Apple’s iPod. He criticized Spotify for the quality of its playback, saying,

“The #1 streamer of low-res music in the world – Spotify where you get less quality than we made, will now be home of my music again. I hope all you millions of Spotify users enjoy my songs! They will all now be there for you except for the full sound we created."

In 2022, Neil Young called Spotify “the home of life-threatening Covid misinformation. Selling lies for money … They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.” A spokesperson from Spotify told media outlets at the time,

"We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon."

According to The Guardian, a group of 270 United States doctors and scientists also called on the streaming platform to “take action against the mass-misinformation events which continue to occur on its platform.” As per BBC, Joe Rogan apologized for the same, at the time, saying,

"I'm not trying to promote misinformation. I'm not trying to be controversial. I've never tried to do anything with this podcast other than to just talk to people. I do not know if they're right. I don't know because I'm not a doctor; I'm not a scientist. I'm just a person who sits down and talks to people and has conversations with them."

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Last month, Joe Rogan signed a new, multi-year deal with Spotify that The Wall Street Journal estimates to be worth $250 million. The agreement stated that the program would become available on rival services including YouTube and Apple Music.