Neil Young couldn't remove his music from Spotify by himself

Spotify removed all of Neil Young's songs this week at his request, as the musician claimed he chose the platform to keep either his music or the Joe Rogan podcast. The young comedian and the streaming company have been accused of spreading misinformation and anti-vaccination about covid.

Spotify inked a $100 million deal with Rogan in 2020 for exclusive rights to his show The Joe Rogan Experience, the most expensive deal in podcast history. The show has 11 million subscribers and is a massive source of influence and revenue for Spotify. However, Rogan has come under more scrutiny over the past year. Last spring, Spotify removed 42 of Rogan's episodes that featured guests and controversial topics. And earlier this month, 270 Health wrote an open letter to Rogan criticizing him for a history of "spreading misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic."

After it became clear that Spotify wouldn't remove Rogan's show, Young made good on his promise, but he couldn't do it alone, he had to ask his record label first.

Who owns Neil Young’s songs?

Like many artists, Young couldn't download his own music independently from Spotify because he didn't have full control over his licensing rights.

Young's music licensing rights are with his record company Warner Bros. Reprise Records. Warner Bros. is responsible for lucrative deals with third parties like Spotify that could reproduce Young's work.

“Before I told my friends at Warner Bros about my desire to leave the Spotify platform, I was reminded by my own legal forces that contractually I did not have the control of my music to do that,” Young wrote on his official website Wednesday. “I want to thank my truly great and supportive record company Warner Brothers – Reprise Records, for standing with me in my decision to pull all my music from Spotify. Thank You!”