Neil Young has shared two new statements on his website, following the request of his music being removed from Spotify being granted by the streaming service.
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The statements – one titled ‘Spotify: In The Name Of Truth’, the other titled ‘Thanks For Standing With Me’ – were published on the Neil Young Archives site Wednesday (January 26).
In them, Young thanked his publisher Hipgnosis and current record label Warner/Reprise for their support and work that lead to the removal of Young’s music on the streaming platform.
In the first statement, Young notes that before he told anyone at Warner about his decision, he was reminded by his “own legal forces” that he “did not have control” of his catalogue to make that call on his own.
“I announced I was leaving anyway, because I knew I was,” he wrote. “I want to thank my truly great and supportive record company… for standing with me in my decision.”
Young’s statement goes on to claim that the veteran singer-songwriter will lose 60 per cent of his streaming income due to removing himself from the platform. While he admitted it was “a huge loss” for the label, he thanked Warner/Reprise for “recognizing the threat [that] the COVID misinformation on Spotify posed to the world.”
“Thank you Warner Brothers for standing with me and taking the hit – losing 60% of my world wide streaming income in the name of truth,” he wrote.
The second statement continued the sentiments of the first, specifically extending thanks to Hipgnosis – with whom Young has worked since 2021 – as well as Universal, who oversee five of Young’s 41 studio albums due to a record deal with Geffen in the ’80s.
“I am very happy with their support,” wrote Young of Hipgnosis. “I want to personally thank Merck [Mercuriadis, Hipgnosis founder] and Hipgnosis for standing with me. [This is] a costly move, but worth it for our integrity and beliefs.”
Young additionally thanked Universal for “the conscience” of its executives Michele Anthony and Bruce Resnikoff. “I truly appreciate your help and support,” he concluded.
Young announced his intentions to leave Spotify earlier this week in protest of the streaming platform being the exclusive home of Joe Rogan’s podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.
In his initial announcement, Young claimed that Rogan was spreading “false information about [COVID-19] vaccines” on his podcast. “They can have Rogan or Young,” he wrote. “Not both.”
Upon granting Young’s request for removal, Spotify wrote that they “regret [Young’s] decision”, but that they “hope to welcome him back soon.”