Spotify silent after Neil Young reportedly threatens to pull songs from platform over Joe Rogan
Young reportedly posted a letter that read: 'They can have Rogan or Young. Not both'
Spotify has noticeably kept mum amid news that Neil Young reportedly asked the streaming giant to remove his music.
A spokesperson for the podcast platform hasn’t responded to FOX Business’ multiple requests for comment.
The veteran rocker fired off a public missive to his management on Monday, demanding that they remove his music from Spotify in protest of Joe Rogan spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine on his popular podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience."
But soon after, the letter disappeared from view on Young’s website. As of Wednesday morning, listeners could still listen to many of the 76-year-old’s hits.
NEIL YOUNG THREATENS TO PULL SONGS OFF SPOTIFY OVER JOE ROGAN: REPORT
Neil Young's letter has since been deleted. (Gus Stewart/Redferns / Getty Images)
"I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them," Young wrote in his letter, as quoted by Rolling Stone. "Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule."
"I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform," the singer continued. "They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both. With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE, which is hosted exclusively on Spotify, is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence."
"Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy," the letter concluded, as quoted by the outlet.
It is noted that last month, 270 doctors, health care workers and educators signed an open letter asking Spotify to take action against Rogan, 54, for promoting what they called COVID-related "misinformation."
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Joe Rogan signed a deal with Spotify reportedly valued at $100 million, which granted them exclusive rights to "The Joe Rogan Experience." (Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images / Getty Images)
At the time, Rogan provoked anger over interviewing Dr. Robert Malone, an infectious disease specialist. Malone was banned from Twitter but has become a hero in the anti-vaccine community. He questioned the COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness and falsely suggested that millions of people had been hypnotized into believing that the vaccines work to prevent serious disease.
As of Wednesday morning, the Dec. 31 episode featuring Malone was still available to stream on the service.
Rogan signed a deal with Spotify reportedly valued at $100 million, which granted them exclusive rights to "The Joe Rogan Experience."
Reps for Rogan and Young didn’t immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
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Spotify has kept silent over the ongoing news concerning Neil Young. (Photo Illustration by Onur Dogman/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Following the news, "Who is Neil Young" was trending on Twitter as users mocked that the artist was open to "Rockin’ in the Free World," but under his terms. Others asked if Young was still alive.
Young removed most of his music from Spotify several years ago because he believed the sound quality on the service was too low. He ultimately relented.
"That’s where people get music," he told Rolling Stone in 2019. "I want people to hear my music no matter what they have to get through to do it. I’m just trying to make it so they hear a lot more and enjoy it a lot more, but sell it for the same price because music is music."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.