SiriusXM Resurrects Neil Young Channel After the Rocker Cancels Himself From Spotify

Matt Winkelmeyer, Getty

SiriusXm has resurrected a channel for Neil Young’s music, just a day after his entire catalogue was yanked by Spotify after he demanded podcaster Joe Rogan be canceled.

Young, 76, wrote a letter that has since been deleted on his website in which he demanded Spotify pick either he or Rogan.

“I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” Young wrote, Rolling Stone reported. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”

Young had accused Rogan of being a source of life-threatening “misinformation” about Covid vaccines.

Spotify refused to cancel Rogan, and so Young’s request that he essentially be self-canceled was honored.

The streamer told The Washington Post in a statement:

We want all the world’s music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators. We have detailed content policies in place and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.

The Daily Beast reported Thursday that Young’s music is now available on SiriusXM:

Just a day after Spotify yanked Neil Young’s music, SiriusXM has decided to relaunch Neil Young Radio. The move follows Young’s scathing letter to Spotify that announced he was boycotting the streaming service.

…

SiriusXM first created Neil Young Radio in December as a “limited-run channel,” and is resurrecting the channel for 7 days on the platform’s Deep Tracks channel and for a full month on the radio’s app. Though SiriusXM also features far-right shows, its broadcast licenses inhibit a rights-holder, like Young, from keeping their music off the airwaves.

SiriusXM’s senior VP Steve Blatter said, “When you have an opportunity to present an iconic artist still at the height of his creativity, you don’t hesitate to do it, again.”