Springsteen Guitarist Nils Lofgren Removes Music From Spotify Over Joe Rogan Vaccine ‘Misinformation’
Nils Lofgren announced on Saturday that he was removing his music from Spotify in protest against vaccine misinformation propagated by Joe Rogan.
The 70-year-old Bruce Springsteen guitarist made the announcement in solidarity with Neil Young, who pulled his music from Spotify days earlier, making his announcement in Young’s newsletter.
Joni Mitchell also followed suit by removing her music from the service in protest.
He’s out: Guitar Nils Lofgren, 70, announced in his friend Neil Young’s newsletter on Saturday that he had removed “the last 27 years” of his music from Spotify because of Joe Rogan’s vaccine misinformation; seen in 2016 in Mountain View, California.
‘A few days ago my wife Amy and I got to know about Neil and Daryl [Hannah] standing with hundreds of medical professionals, scientists, doctors and nurses to call out Spotify for promoting lies and misinformation that hurt and kill people,’ Lofgren wrote in his statement.
“When these heroic women and men, who have spent their lives healing and saving ours, cry out for help, don’t turn your back on them for money and power. You listen and stay with them.
The guitar virtuoso added that he had “now removed the last 27 years of my music from Spotify” and was contacting the record companies that owned his earlier music to ask them to remove his songs as well.
Lofgren, who played on and off in Young’s Crazy Horse work band, highlighted his long friendship with the Canadian rocker.
Go for it all: Lofgren noted his long friendship with Neil Young and said he’s been reaching out to other record labels that own his older recordings to ask that they be removed from Spotify as well.
Comedian Joe Rogan, who hosts the popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, has been accused of spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine in several episodes. He signed an exclusive $100 million deal with Spotify in May 2020; seen in 2018 in Pasadena
‘Neil and I go back 53 years. [Wife] Amy [Aiello] and I’m honored and blessed to call Neil and Daryl friends, and I knew staying with them was the right choice,’ he continued.
“We encourage all musicians, artists and music lovers around the world to stand with us and cut ties with Spotify. Music is our planet’s sacred weapon, uniting and healing billions of souls every day. Grab your sword and start swinging,’ he added, before mentioning that he was also working in solidarity with Mitchell.
The exodus of rock legends from Spotify began after Young, 76, posted a since-deleted letter on Tuesday that targeted Rogan, who signed an exclusive $100 million deal with Spotify in May 2020 that gave the streaming service exclusive rights to his popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.
Leading the way: The exodus of rock legends from Spotify began after Young, 76, posted a since-deleted letter on Tuesday that targeted Rogan while announcing he was leaving Spotify; seen in 2014 in London
‘With approximately 11 million listeners per episode, JRE [Joe Rogan Experience]which is hosted exclusively on Spotify, is the biggest podcast in the world and has massive influence,’ Young wrote.
“Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, although the company currently has no misinformation policy.
“I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music removed from their platform… They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” he continued.
“I’m doing this because Spotify is spreading misinformation about vaccines – potentially causing the death of those who believe the misinformation is being spread by them.”
Joni Mitchell, 78, announced on Saturday that she was “in solidarity” with her friend Young by also deleting her music from Spotify.
As of Sunday, only a handful of his albums remained, and his most popular and critically acclaimed albums are all missing.
In her announcement, she shared an open letter signed by a coalition of medical professionals asking Spotify to work to remove “mass disinformation events” from its service.
Solidarity: Young’s friend Joni Mitchell followed suit on Saturday. On Sunday, only a handful of his albums remain on the service; seen in 2019 in Beverly Hills
“I have decided to remove all my music from Spotify,” Mitchell said in a statement posted on his website.
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people’s lives.
“I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
His post referenced an episode of Joe Rogan Experience from December 31, 2021, which featured “baseless conspiracy theories.”
“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.
“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.”