Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren latest to pull music off Spotify in protest

Joe Rogan has issued an apology for racist language he’s used in episodes of his popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.”

Mumford & Sons member Winston Marshall has written a piece for Bari Weiss’ Substack criticising artists taking action against Spotify.In the essay entitled ‘When Artists Become the Censors’, Marshall takes aim at those he believes are threatening free speech, including Neil Young, who recently pulled his music from Spotify.On January 24, Young published an open letter – which has since been deleted – expressing his feelings about content like the Joe Rogan Experience podcast “spreading false information about vaccines”. This sparked a wider protest, with the likes of Joni Mitchell and Crazy Horse member Nils Lofgren following suit.“Something resembling a bottom-up authoritarianism has become the norm,” Marshall writes in the essay.

Spotify has reportedly removed 70 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience that see the comedian using racist slurs.However, the controversial episodes about vaccine misinformation are still available to listen to despite Neil Young and Joni Mitchell removing their music from the platform.Yesterday (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.Earlier in the week, the singer announced they too were pulling their music from Spotify, citing their hosting of Rogan’s podcast and his “language around race” as the reasons why.#DeleteSpotify Clarity: Artist give their LIVES making music that streams for a 28th of a penny. Yes 28th of a penny.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are stuck between “principles or money” after the Spotify “misinformation” Covid row, a royal expert has claimed. Richard Eden spoke to Mail+ Palace Confidential describing the situation as a “nightmare” for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, saying that while the couple were strong campaigners against misinformation, their decision not to pull out of the Spotify deal showed they picked “money” over “principles”.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorHow big of a liability vs. an asset will Joe Rogan prove to be for Spotify? A new survey sheds some light on which way the wind might blow given the spate of #DeleteSpotify and #CancelSpotify hashtags that blew up on social media in recent days — although similar past customer backlashes have resulted in minimal damage.About 19% of Spotify users said they have already canceled their service — or plan to — over the Rogan uproar, according to a Feb.

singers boycotted the music streamer because of his COVID-19 “misinformation” and anti-vaccine statements.Rogan — alongside returning guest Andy Stumpf, a retired Navy SEAL — addressed his break from Spotify, saying, “I put out a video a couple days ago; other than that, not much I can do.”He continued: “When you’re hearing it from people who are losing the information attention game — people like CNN — when they’re calling for other networks or shows to be censored or limited, it’s like, ‘Just do better.’”However, Rogan continued to spew controversial content in his first show back. He stated that lockdowns “don’t stop the spread” of the coronavirus and declared that Montreal has a “wild” 10 p.m.

Spotify over comments made on his podcast.Neil Young was the first to pull his music due to Rogan spreading “misinformation” about COVID-19, with Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash following in solidarity.Spotify CEO Daniel Ek responded to the row in an official statement, saying that Spotify would be adding COVID-19 content advisories to all relevant podcast episodes and Rogan himself has publicly addressed the backlash in a post discussing “some of the controversy that’s been going on over the past few days”.Now, Stewart has waded into the row on his own podcast The Problem With Jon Stewart saying artists’ actions towards Rogan were “a mistake”.“There’s no question that there is egregious misinformation that’s purposeful and hateful, and that being moderated is a credit to the platforms that run them,” Stewart said. “But this overreaction to Rogan, I think, is a mistake.”He pointed to an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience in which Rogan argued with Australian media personality Josh Szeps about whether COVID-19 itself or its vaccine was more likely to make patients vulnerable to myocarditis.When the two disagreed, Rogan offered to look it up, and when he was proven wrong he accepted it.As a result, Stewart believed that Rogan was open to other opinions and urged artists not to not “leave, abandon or censor” but instead “engage”.Meanwhile, India.Arie has become one of the latest artists to leave Spotify over Rogan’s “language around race”.

India.Arie is clarifying her stance.

India.Arie has shared clips of Joe Rogan referring to Black neighbourhoods as “Planet of the Apes” and using the N-word in several episodes.This follows the singer’s recent announcement about leaving Spotify, citing their hosting of Rogan’s podcast and his “language around race” as the reasons why she pulled her music from the platform.Arie has now shared more about her decision, referring to specific episodes in the below video.“He shouldn’t even be uttering the word. Don’t even say it, under any context.

Jon Stewart is offering a defence of Joe Rogan.

wrote in a “Déjà Vu” statement.“While we always value alternate points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences. Until real action is taken to show that a concern for humanity must be balanced with commerce, we don’t want our music—or the music we made together—to be on the same platform.”Young started the trend when he pulled his solo catalog from the streaming service last week in protest of “fake information about vaccines” being spread on the popular “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Joni Michell, a contemporary of the 60s supergroup, followed suit on the heels of Young’s announcement and Nash joined the chorus of musicians requesting to flee the service on Tuesday, calling on Spotify to be “responsible and accountable” for its content.The band’s request applies to music the band released both with and without sometimes-member Young, as well as solo releases from Crosby and Stills, according to a press release.Crosby tweeted last month that removing his catalog might be difficult because he sold his recorded music and publishing rights. Music from CSNY, CSN and Crosby, Nash and Stills was still on Spotify as of Thursday night.Rogan, who has a $100 million deal with the streaming service, addressed accusations on Sunday that his show promoted unsanctioned COVID-19 treatments and claimed that vaccinations were harmful to some.“I’m not trying to promote misinformation.

Former Mumford & Sons band member Winston Marshall released a lengthy essay comparing calls for action against Joe Rogan’s podcast on Spotify to Soviet-era censorship.  On Thursday, Marshall released an essay on Substack with the title "When Artists Become the Censors" in which he criticizes artists like Neil Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren and India Arie, all of whom have pulled their music off Spotify until it addresses misinformation on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast.  In his essay, Marshall begins by discussing the state of music censorship in the Soviet Union in 1984 before comparing it to the conditions that Spotify is facing today as calls for it to pull Rogan’s work mount. He even called out Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who previously voiced their "concerns" about misinformation on Spotify.  "Of course, Spotify is a private company; they’re under no obligation to platform anybody.

Many of the top musicians in the industry are making their voices heard – by taking their voices away.

Daniel Ek said exclusive deals like one with Joe Rogan are critical to the company’s business, that he sometimes finds the podcast offensive, but that he doesn’t consider Spotify a “publisher” in terms of bearing responsibility for content it carries.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSpotify’s staff was up in arms about the company and co-founder/CEO Daniel Ek’s defense of Joe Rogan in a town hall meeting Wednesday that followed its middling quarterly report and subsequent stock drop, according to a report in the Verge that cites a leaked audio recording of the meeting.In Ek’s 15-minute speech, he positioned the company as both a platform and publisher, saying that “There are many things that Joe Rogan says that I strongly disagree with and find very offensive,” he said, but defended the company’s relationship with the controversial podcaster by stating, “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.” Reps for Spotify did not immediately respond to Variety‘s requests for comment.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has defended the streaming platform, saying “it’s too early to know” the impact of the recent Joe Rogan row on the company’s future.Earlier this month, hundreds of scientists and medical professionals asked Spotify to address COVID misinformation on its platform, sparked by comments made on The Joe Rogan Experience.More than 270 members of the science and medical community signed the open letter, which called Rogan’s actions “not only objectionable and offensive but also medically and culturally dangerous”.The situation then made headline news, with Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Crazy Horse member Nils Lofgren and more pulling their music from the service after Young sparked a protest against the misinformation being spread about the virus on Rogan’s Spotify original podcast.Other public figures also weighed in on the debate, with Catherine Mayer – the widow of Gang Of Four‘s Andy Gill – criticising Spotify for platforming anti-vax sentiments. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, meanwhile, said in a statement that they had expressed concerns about misinformation to Spotify last year.

Queen's voice and called Meghan Markle a “little American hussy” who would "make Prince Harry a Kardashian" in an unearthed podcast episode. Rogan is the host of a Spotify exclusive podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, and has come under fire recently having appeared to promote an anti-vax conspiracy theorist on his show.

Joe Rogan branded Meghan Markle a ‘little American hussy’ in a resurfaced podcast episode amid bubbling drama at Spotify, while also joking the former actress would make Prince Harry ‘a Kardashian’.The comedian’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, is at the centre of backlash due to past episodes that stand accused of spreading disinformation about the Covid virus and vaccine.Meghan and Prince Harry penned a letter to Spotify – which bought Rogan’s podcast for reportedly more than $100million (£72m) – referencing the ‘misinformation’ on its platform, adding they’d expressed ‘concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis’.But while the former senior royals never specifically mentioned Rogan in their statement, he’s certainly dropped them in it before in an unearthed episode, in reference to the pair’s controversial ‘Megxit’ as they stepped down from their roles in the Royal Family and relocated to California two years ago.And you better bet that’s come back up this week after their statement.The commentator was speaking to former CIA agent Mike Baker about their move in a January 2020 episode and, as he mimicked the queen, said: ‘It’s that little American hussy he’s hooked up with. She’s going to turn him into a Kardashian.

COVID which have been articulated on his podcast.Earlier this month, hundreds of scientists and medical professionals asked Spotify to address COVID misinformation on its platform, sparked by comments made on The Joe Rogan Experience.More than 270 members of the science and medical community signed the open letter, which called Rogan’s actions “not only objectionable and offensive but also medically and culturally dangerous”.Rogan took to social media on Monday (January 31) to publicly address the backlash himself in a post discussing “some of the controversy that’s been going on over the past few days”.He told fans on Instagram: “I don’t always get it right. I will do my best to try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people perspectives so we can maybe find a better point of view.A post shared by Joe Rogan (@joerogan)Admitting that it is a “strange responsibility to have this many views and listeners,” he promised “to do my best in the future to balance things out.”Supporting Rogan in the comments of his post, Dwayne Johnson wrote: “Great stuff here brother.

A steady stream of artists and other creators continue to join the Spotify boycott over the Joe Rogan podcast, although the streaming service’s boss Daniel Ek has told investors that it’s too soon to say to what extent that boycott is having a negative impact on subscriber numbers.The boycott was instigated by Neil Young, of course, who in turn was responding to a letter signed by 250+ scientists and medics which accused the Spotify exclusive podcast the Joe Rogan Experience of “a concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic”.After Young’s label confirmed it was removing the musician’s music from Spotify – and other artists piled onto social media pledging support and, in some cases, announcing that they were joining the boycott – both Ek and Rogan issued statements on Sunday evening, hoping to quell the rebellion.Ek said that Spotify actually had solid policies for dealing with any misinformation that appears in podcasts uploaded to the platform, but that it needed to be more transparent about those policies.He also committed to signpost COVID information approved by the scientific consensus alongside any podcast which, although adhering to Spotify’s misinformation policies, nevertheless contain controversial opinions about the pandemic.

Daniel Ek is opening up about the controversy surrounding Spotify in a conference call which announced new quarterly numbers.