James Blunt has joked that he’ll be releasing new music if Spotify doesn’t take down Joe Rogan’s podcast – which has come under fire for promoting skeptical views on vaccines.
It comes after Joni Mitchell joined Neil Young on Friday in removing his music from the platform in protest at their promotion of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
The singer, 78, said she was “in solidarity” with Young who this week asked Spotify to remove her songs unless the episodes were taken down – which he said spread “false information regarding Covid vaccines.
Witty: James Blunt joked he would release new music if Spotify didn’t remove Joe Rogan’s podcast – which has been criticized for promoting skeptical views on vaccines
The Big Yellow Taxi hitmaker said the streaming giant was allowing ‘irresponsible people’ to spread lies that were ‘costing people their lives’.
Jokingly commenting on the controversy, James Blunt’s tweet on Saturday read, “If @Spotify doesn’t remove @JoeRogan immediately I will be releasing new music on the platform.”
The singer also added the hashtag #youwerebeautiful, a reference to his signature 2005 song You’re Beautiful.
Oh my goodness: Earlier this month hundreds of doctors and scientists signed an open letter to Spotify accusing it of pushing ‘anti-vax misinformation’ on its podcast – with one calling it a “threat to public health”
On Friday, Mitchell also shared an open letter signed by a coalition of medical professionals calling on Spotify to take action against “mass disinformation events” occurring on its platform.
“I have decided to remove all my music from Spotify,” Mitchell said in a statement on his official website.
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people’s lives.
Funny: Jokingly commenting on the controversy, James Blunt’s tweet on Saturday read: ‘If @Spotify doesn’t remove @JoeRogan immediately I will be posting new music on the platform’
“I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
The open letter referred to a specific episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, released on December 31, 2021, in which “baseless conspiracy theories” were promoted.
“By allowing the spread of false and socially harmful claims, Spotify is enabling its hosted media to undermine public trust in scientific research and cast doubt on the credibility of data-based advice offered by healthcare professionals,” the letter read.
Strong: This comes after Joni Mitchell (pictured) joined Neil Young on Friday in removing his music from the platform in protest at their promotion of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast
“It’s not just a scientific or medical concern; it’s a sociological problem of devastating proportions and Spotify is responsible for enabling this activity to thrive on its platform.
“We, the undersigned doctors, nurses, scientists and educators, therefore call on Spotify to immediately establish a clear and public policy to moderate misinformation on its platform.”
It comes as Young praised Spotify rival Amazon Music and offered his fans four free months on the streaming platform.
The musician said Amazon was “leading the pack” in producing high-quality audio and encouraged fans to use the service to access its entire catalog.
Opinions: Young (pictured) continued his crusade on Friday, posting an open letter on his personal website, which opened with the words: ‘When I left SPOTIFY I felt better’
The streaming giant said it “regrets” Young’s decision and hopes to see him again soon.
Young continued his crusade Friday, posting an open letter on his personal website, which opened with the words, “When I left SPOTIFY, I felt better.”
The outspoken artist alleged that Spotify degrades sound quality by 95% so it can carry more content.
“AMAZON, APPLE MUSIC and Qobuz deliver up to 100% of the music today and it sounds so much better than SPOTIFY’s degraded, neutralized s****y sound,” Young fumed. “If you support SPOTIFY, you are destroying an art form.”
Turning his attention to his row with Rogan over the podcaster’s negative views on COVID vaccination, Young wrote, “I support free speech. I have never been in favor of censorship. Private companies have the right to choose what they profit from, just as I can choose not to support my music on a platform that disseminates harmful information.
In response to Young’s ultimatum, Spotify agreed to remove his songs from its platform, where the singer had 2.4 million followers and more than six million monthly listeners.
“We want all the music and audio content in the world to be available to Spotify users. With that comes a great responsibility to balance both the safety of listeners and the freedom of creators,” the rep said. from the streaming company to Variety.
Views: Stand-up comedian Rogan, 54, has previously sparked controversy for suggesting young and healthy people shouldn’t get vaccinated
“We have detailed content policies in place and have removed over 20,000 COVID-related podcast episodes since the pandemic began. We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to see him again soon.
It comes after Apple Music took a dig at Spotify boasting that it was ‘the house of Neil Young‘.
A day after Spotify announced it would comply with Young’s request to remove his recordings from the sharing platform, Apple Music tweeted Thursday night: “Neil Young’s house.” Listen to his entire catalog on Apple Music.
The tweet featured a link providing access to Young’s “artist” page on the Apple Music website and a slideshow featuring the prolific musician’s many album covers.
On the Apple Music app, the streaming service went out of its way to tout Young’s playlists and albums under the “We Love Neil” banner.
Spotify acquired The Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2020, for over $100m (£77m).
Stand-up comedian Rogan, 54, has previously sparked controversy for suggesting that young and healthy people should not get vaccinated.
