Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Nils Lofgren Pulls Music from Spotify Amid COVID-19 Misinformation Boycott

Jeremy Clarkson has weighed in on recent discussions concerning Spotify's decision not to back down from giving the likes of Joe Rogan a platform to share their views on matters concerning the Covid vaccine.The streaming giant has been under heavy scrutiny in the past few weeks, with artists such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell having pulled their discography from the platform.Among many other musicians, the pair were left disappointed upon seeing Spotify defend Joe, who some say has used his Joe Rogan Podcast to spread misinformation about the Covid vaccine.In a statement last week, Spotify boss Daniel Ek said: "If we want even a shot at achieving our bold ambitions, it will mean having content on Spotify that many of us may not be proud to be associated with."Not anything goes, but there will be opinions, ideas, and beliefs that we disagree with strongly and even makes us angry or sad."American actress Sharon Stone has since weighed in with her thoughts on the matter as she deemed Joe to be "dangerous" and "risking people's lives with his idiocy" for how he has spoken about Covid on his podcast. "I just want to say COVID is not an opinion-based situation, and Mr Rogan thinking that his opinion or a disclaimer for the lives that he personally has affected and caused losses of, it's not an opinion," she told a TMZ cameraman in LA last week."Mr Rogan is risking people's lives with his idiocy and his professing that his thoughts about COVID are opinions, they aren't opinions."And while Jeremy is very much for the idea of giving people the right to express their thoughts and feelings whichever way they see fit, in his latest column for The Sun, the TV personality couldn't help but to agree with Sharon. "Sharon Stone has

recent apology for using the N-word he also branded himself a victim of a ‘political hit job’.Yes, you could say there is a lot to unpack here.The comedian and commentator’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, has been at the centre of intense criticism over the past couple of weeks amid accusations it’s become a breeding ground of Covid ‘misinformation’, with numerous stars including Neil Young and India Arie withdrawing their music from Spotify in protest.Singer Arie also shared a clip of Rogan, 54, using the N-word on the show, which he addressed and apologised for over the weekend, calling it ‘the most regretful and shameful thing I’ve ever had to talk about publicly’. Discussing the recent incident with comic and actor Akaash Singh on Tuesday’s episode, Rogan – whose podcast is housed on Spotify as part of a reported $100million (£73m) exclusive deal – addressed footage of him using the slur after insisting ‘if you stay offline…life goes on as normal’.As he opened the podcast, Rogan said that while the clip of him ‘had always been out there’ and he saw it as a ‘good thing’ it was unearthed, he likened it to ‘a political hit job’.To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoThe podcaster said: ‘It’s like this is a political hit job.

Steve Albini has called on Joe Rogan to follow the example of Insane Clown Posse, as Rogan continues to face a backlash over the content of his Spotify podcast.Rogan recently apologised after it emerged that he had used the N-word multiple times on his show, calling it “the most regretful and shameful thing I’ve had to talk about publicly” before arguing that the clips had been “taken out of context of 12 years of conversations on my podcast”.He was already under fire after Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and more removed their music from Spotify in response to vaccine misinformation promoted by guests on his show, which has been exclusive to the streaming platform since a $100million deal was struck in 2020.On Monday (February 7), Albini shared an interview with Insane Clown Posse’s Violent J from 2020 in which the musician acknowledged problematic lyrics in the band’s music.Discussing ICP’s 2000 collaboration with Three 6 Mafia, which contains the line “sick like a diseased Ethiopian,” Violent J told Stereogum: “I was that stupid. I didn’t understand the offensiveness in that.

“Joe Rogan watchdog” for the progressive nonprofit Media Matters — shared seven clips of the 54-year-old making off-color comments during podcast interviews with various guests. Paterson posted the “Joe Rogan Experience” clips to Twitter on Monday — just days after Rogan was forced to apologize for other, older footage that featured him using the N-word.

Spotify and FC Barcelona are reportedly close to agreeing a sponsorship deal, according to a radio station based in the Spanish city.The football club announced back in September that it has debts of more than £1billion, and they are said to now be in talks with the streaming service over a £237million deal.The purported three-year deal would see Spotify’s name appear on the shirts of both the men’s and women’s teams, and their training kits. It would also be prefixed to the football giant’s stadium name, which would then be known as the Spotify Nou Camp.As well as reports from the radio station RACI (via The Times), a Catalan journalist has also shared a photo online of executives from Spotify meeting with Juli Guiu, FC Barcelona’s vice president of marketing, at the stadium.If the deal is closed successfully, it could make for some positive news for the streaming platform, which has been embroiled in controversy recently surrounding its exclusive The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.Rogan was called out for spreading “misinformation” about the COVID-19 vaccine on the show, while clips later resurfaced online of him using racial slurs and making racist comments on the programme.

Iggy Pop has been announced as the recipient of this year’s Polar Music Prize.The former Stooges frontman and solo icon will pick up the award at a ceremony in Stockholm in Sweden on May 24.In an official video announcing the winner, the Polar Music Prize hailed Pop as a “one-of-a-kind” artist. “And with his poetic lyrics and provocative stage presence, he is considered the godfather of punk music,” a voiceover added.Pop said: “I was aware of the very fine range of people that have gotten the Polar Music Prize.

Neil Young has taken another swipe at Spotify after pulling his music from the platform to take a stand against COVID-19 vaccine misinformation being spread by podcaster Joe Rogan.

Spotify over their alleged support of vaccine misinformation, Neil Young has encouraged workers at Spotify – as well as fellow musicians – to step away from the streaming giant.“In our communication age, misinformation is the problem,” he wrote in a statement to his website yesterday (February 7). “Ditch the misinformers. Find a good clean place to support with your monthly checks.

In his latest salvo against Spotify, rocker Neil Young is urging musicians, creators and even employees to abandon the streaming service, telling Spotify workers to “get out of that place before it eats up your soul.”

Zack Sharf Neil Young has urged Spotify employees to quit the company in the wake of the fallout involving Joe Rogan, which has spiraled from the podcaster’s use of his platform to air Covid-19 misinformation to his earlier, frequent use of a racial slur on his show. Young is now targeting Spotify CEO Daniel Ek as the company’s chief problem.“To the musicians and creators in this world, I say this: You must be able to find a better place than Spotify to be the home of your art,” Young wrote in a post on his Neil Young Archives site.

Taking a stand. Amid the controversy surrounding Spotify’s support of comedian Joe Rogan and his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” many stars have decided to pull their content from the streaming service in protest.

Joe Rogan has reportedly been offered a huge sum of money to leave Spotify.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs Spotify awkwardly attempts to defend its stance on Joe Rogan — first over the Covid-19 misinformation on his show, and then over his frequent use of the N-word on that same show — the controversies have revived musicians’ longest-standing problem with the platform: The royalty rates it and other streaming platforms pay, which most musicians and many rights-holders feel are far too low.This is particularly true in publishing: In January of 2018 the Copyright Royalty Board ruled to increase songwriter rates for interactive streaming by nearly 50% over the following five years, to 15.1%. However, in March of 2019, Spotify, Google, Amazon and Pandora then appealed to keep the previous rate of 10.5% — and are gearing up to argue for that rate for the next five-year period (2023-2027) as well.

One of Joe Rogan’s biggest critics, India Arie, said that she doesn’t believe in cancel culture and isn't asking for the podcaster to be censored, despite taking her music off of Spotify’s platform. Rogan is one of the streaming service's biggest stars, with a contract that could earn him more than $100 million. However, Arie joined artists like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in asking that their music be removed from the platform due to its inclusion of "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has moved to condemn comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan after another week of controversy. Over the weekend video clips of Rogan repeatedly using racial slurs, and laughing when white guests did the same, went viral.

Dwayne Johnson is walking back his support of Joe Rogan.

Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Will Butler has penned an op-ed piece in which he discusses the issues surrounding Spotify and its current situation with Joe Rogan.In January, hundreds of scientists and medical professionals asked Spotify to address COVID-19 misinformation on its platform, sparked by comments made on The Joe Rogan Experience. The 270-plus members of the science and medical community signed an open letter, which called Rogan’s actions “not only objectionable and offensive but also medically and culturally dangerous”.Following the publishing of that letter, Neil Young demanded his music be “immediately” removed from the platform, with many high-profile artists like Joni Mitchell, David Crosby and Graham Nash following suit.Since then, a consumer poll from Forrester Research has found that 19 per cent of the streaming service’s customers have since cancelled their subscriptions, or plan to in the near future.

Harry and Meghan Markle "fake" and "braindead" over their multi-million dollar Spotify deal. The couple have received increasing pressure to abandon their partnership with the streaming service after it hosted anti-vaccination content made by US commentator Joe Rogan.Rogan was accused of spreading misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines, which have been proven to be safe to use and effective against the virus.

Spotify boss Daniel Ek has sent a letter to company staff saying he “strongly condemns” Joe Rogan’s use of racial slurs, but that removing his podcast is “not the answer”.It comes after the streaming service reportedly removed 70 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience that see the comedian using racist slurs.Last week (February 4) India.Aria shared a compilation of clips that featured Rogan using the N-word repeatedly and describing a Black neighbourhood as being similar to the Planet Of The Apes movie.Rogan has since apologised, telling his Instagram followers. “There’s been a lot of shit from the old episodes of the podcast that I wish I hadn’t said, or had said differently.

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the controversy sparked by a company called HitPiece after it appeared to be selling NFTs related to a plethora of musicians without permission, plus accusations by Lil Yachty that another music-focussed NFT Company, Opulous, used his name and brand as part of its launch communications, even though – he claims – he had not agreed to get involved in the venture.SECTION TIMES01: HitPiece (00:08:37)02: Lil Yachty (00:20:55)(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)SUBSCRIBE TO SETLISTListen to Setlist and sign up to receive new episodes for free automatically each week through any of these services…Acast | Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | audioBoom | CastBox | Deezer | Google Podcasts | iHeart | Mixcloud | RSS | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneInSTORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK• Artists and labels hit out at unofficial NFTs site that allows people to “own a song”• Lil Yachty sues music NFT start-up Opulous for trademark infringement• Opulous says Lil Yachty lawsuit is “meritless”ALSO MENTIONED• Joe Rogan and Daniel Ek commit to beefed up and more transparent content polices in response to Neil Young boycott• Spotify science podcaster hits out at Spotify’s response to Rogan backlash• Spotify boycott grows as Young v Rogan fallout continuesMORE FROM CMU• Upcoming CMU webinars• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

Battling criticism for hosting The Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast denounced for the propagation of Covid-19 vaccine misinformation and Rogan’s use of the N-word in 70 episodes, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek released a memo to his employees expressing how “deeply sorry” he is for the way the podcast affected his employees.