Podcasts were meant to revive Spotify. Now it’s on the culture war frontline
Until last week, Spotify-using fans of Neil Young could access a vast 54-year catalogue of songs, which attracted more than 6 million listeners a month. Now all that remains are appearances on compilations and, for some reason, a 1989 live album. Enraged by what he saw as the promotion of “life-threatening Covid misinformation” on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the Canadian singer-songwriter issued an ultimatum: “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
As Young surely knew, Spotify’s choice was a foregone conclusion. Rogan’s show, which the streaming service acquired for $100m in 2020, is its most popular podcast, with an average listenership of 11 million per episode. In its first month, it accounted for 4.5% of all podcast listening on Spotify worldwide. For Spotify, which is banking on podcasts to drive subscriptions, he is a star of the magnitude of Adele.
He has also become explosively controversial. Young’s walkout, followed later in the week by Joni Mitchell’s exit in solidarity, was prompted by an open letter calling on Spotify to counter Covid misinformation after Rogan recorded an interview with Dr Robert Malone, a virologist who has become a rightwing media star for his opposition to vaccines. The director general of the WHO tweeted in support of Young’s boycott: “We all have a role to play to end this pandemic and infodemic.”
Young, the most ornery of all boomer rock legends, is the perfect antagonist. He is an obsessive audiophile who temporarily removed his music from all streaming services in 2015 and a purist whose 1988 single This Note’s for You decried licensing songs to commercials. As a survivor of childhood polio, he might also have particularly strong opinions about vaccines. What’s more, he can
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