Neil Young has clarified through his official website that his decision to pull his catalog from Spotify was in no way intended to censor Joe Rogan.
Young wrote: “I support freedom of expression. I was never for censorship. Private companies have the right to choose what they benefit from, just as I can choose not to endorse my music on any platform that spreads harmful information. I am happy and proud to show solidarity with the frontline healthcare workers who risk their lives every day to help others.”
As previously reported, Young pulled his catalog from Spotify due to the Spotify-exclusive podcast The Joe Rogan Experience and his track record of spreading COVID misinformation.
Young’s statement was also directed at Spotify for writing in streaming audio quality: “Digital music has been with us for about 40 years now. Instead of reproducing copies of the music like we did in the analog era, digital reconstructs it from 1s and 0s and plays back data that you hear as music. This allows business people like those who run Spotify to drop the quality down to 5% of the music content.”
He added: “…Amazon, Apple Music and Qobuz deliver up to 100% of the music today, and it sounds a lot better than Spotify’s shabby and castrated sound. Supporting Spotify is destroying an art form. business about art. Spotify will play artists’ music at 5% of its quality and charge you as if it were the original. Amazon, Apple Music and Qobuz are now delivering the real thing. Spotify is ripping you off and has been since day 1.
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Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock news blogger who knows etiquette and is extraordinarily nice.