News Analysis India

Tag: NEil YOung

  • ‘It’s over, the old days are gone,’ says Neil Young as he lambasts Ticketmaster  

    By Online Desk

    Neil Young has lambasted Ticketmaster over its concert ticketing policies, saying “concert tours are no longer fun” due to what he sees as exploitative pricing.

    Young wrote on his website: “It’s over. The old days are gone. I get letters blaming me for $3,000 tickets for a benefit I am doing. That money does not go to me or the benefit. Artists have to worry about ripped-off fans blaming them for Ticketmaster add-ons and scalpers. Concert tours are no longer fun. Concert tours were not what they were.”

    He also shared a news article about the Cure, the band who have also been highly critical of Ticketmaster.

    At 77, Young remains an outspoken critic of the contemporary music industry, as well as a proponent of green energy and other causes. In January 2022, he removed his music from Spotify in protest over their hosting of Joe Rogan’s podcast, accusing Rogan and Spotify of “spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them”.

    Young performed live for the first time in more than three years in February, at a rally for forest preservation in British Columbia, performing Comes a Time and Heart of Gold.

    In November, he said of future touring: “We’re trying to figure out how to do a self-sustaining, renewable tour. Everything that moves our vehicles around, the stage, the lights, the sound, everything that powers it is clean. Nothing dirty with us. We set it up; we do this everywhere we go. This is something that’s very important to me, if I’m ever going to go out again … and I’m not sure I want to, I’m still feeling that out.”

    Neil Young has lambasted Ticketmaster over its concert ticketing policies, saying “concert tours are no longer fun” due to what he sees as exploitative pricing.

    Young wrote on his website: “It’s over. The old days are gone. I get letters blaming me for $3,000 tickets for a benefit I am doing. That money does not go to me or the benefit. Artists have to worry about ripped-off fans blaming them for Ticketmaster add-ons and scalpers. Concert tours are no longer fun. Concert tours were not what they were.”

    He also shared a news article about the Cure, the band who have also been highly critical of Ticketmaster.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    At 77, Young remains an outspoken critic of the contemporary music industry, as well as a proponent of green energy and other causes. In January 2022, he removed his music from Spotify in protest over their hosting of Joe Rogan’s podcast, accusing Rogan and Spotify of “spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them”.

    Young performed live for the first time in more than three years in February, at a rally for forest preservation in British Columbia, performing Comes a Time and Heart of Gold.

    In November, he said of future touring: “We’re trying to figure out how to do a self-sustaining, renewable tour. Everything that moves our vehicles around, the stage, the lights, the sound, everything that powers it is clean. Nothing dirty with us. We set it up; we do this everywhere we go. This is something that’s very important to me, if I’m ever going to go out again … and I’m not sure I want to, I’m still feeling that out.”

  • Joe Rogan responds to podcast controversy, vows to ‘balance things out’ amid misinformation backlash

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: American comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan has finally opened up about the controversy related to his Spotify podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, saying, “I’m not trying to promote misinformation”.

    The 54-year-old star posted a nearly 10-minute video on his Instagram account to address the ongoing criticism surrounding his content after multiple artists removed their music from the platform in protest of Rogan’s podcast, where he has, among other things, suggested that healthy young people don’t need the COVID-19 vaccine.

    “Now, because of this controversy … Neil Young has removed his music from the platform of Spotify and Joni Mitchell and apparently some other people want to as well,” he said.

    “I’m very sorry that they feel that way. I most certainly don’t want that. I’m a Neil Young fan, I’ve always been a Neil Young fan,” he added.

    Rogan, who said he agrees with Spotify’s recent decision to include disclaimers on podcast episodes discussing COVID-19, promised to make more of an effort to “balance out” the controversial opinions on his show.

    “My pledge to you is that I will do my best to try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people’s perspectives, so that we can maybe find a better point of view,” he said.

    Rogan added, “I don’t want to just show the contrary opinion to what the narrative is. I want to show all kinds of opinions so that we can all figure what’s going on…”

    While Rogan pointed out that he has had medical professionals like Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Dr. Michael Osterholm and Dr. Peter Hotez on his show as guests, he also admitted that he never expected to have millions of fans.

    “It’s a strange responsibility to have this many viewers and listeners,” he said. “It’s very strange, and it’s nothing that I prepared for and it’s nothing that I ever anticipated.”

    “I do all the scheduling myself, and I don’t always get it right,” he added. “These podcasts are very strange because they’re just conversations, and oftentimes I have no idea what I’m going to talk about until I sit down to talk to people, and that’s why some of my ideas are not that prepared or fleshed out because I’m literally having them in real time. But I do my best.”

    He continued, “If I pissed you off, I’m sorry. And if you enjoyed the podcast, thank you. … Thank you all the supporters and even thank you to the haters because it’s good to have some haters. It makes you reassess what you’re doing and put things into perspective and I think that’s good too.”

    Many of Rogan’s friends and supporters, including Dwayne Johnson, applauded his response to the controversy in the comments. “Great stuff here brother. Look forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you,” Johnson wrote.

    The video comes days after Neil Young demanded Spotify remove his music from the platform after he claimed that Rogan was spreading misinformation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic on his podcast, reported People magazine.

    Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren later joined Young in having their music pulled from the streaming service.

    As per People magazine, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also called on Spotify to address the “serious harms” caused by COVID misinformation after signing an exclusive multi-year podcast deal with the company in 2020.

    To combat inaccurate information regarding the coronavirus and vaccines, Spotify recently announced plans to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19.

  • Joni Mitchell joining Neil Young in protest over Spotify

    By Associated Press

    NEW YORK: Joni Mitchell said Friday she is seeking to remove all of her music from Spotify in solidarity with Neil Young, who ignited a protest against the streaming service for airing a podcast that featured a figure who has spread misinformation about the coronavirus.

    Mitchell, who like Young is a California-based songwriter who had much of her success in the 1970s, is the first prominent musician to join Young’s effort.

    “Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell said Friday in a message posted on her website. “I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”

    Following Young’s action this week, Spotify said it had policies in place to remove misleading content from its platform and has removed more than 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

    ALSO READ | Barry Manilow quashes rumours of removing his music from Spotify

    But the service has said nothing about comedian Joe Rogan, whose podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” is the centrepiece of the controversy. Last month Rogan interviewed on his podcast Dr Robert Malone, an infectious disease specialist who has been banned from Twitter for spreading COVID misinformation.

    Rogan is one of the streaming service’s biggest stars, with a contract that could earn him more than $100 million.

    Young had called on other artists to support him following his action. While Mitchell, 78, is not a current hitmaker, the Canadian native’s Spotify page said she had 3.7 million monthly listeners to her music. Her songs “Big Yellow Taxi” and “A Case of You” have both been streamed more than 100 million times on the service.

    In a message on his website Friday, Young said that “when I left Spotify, I felt better.”

    “Private companies have the right to choose what they profit from, just as I can choose not to have my music support a platform that disseminates harmful information,” he wrote. “I am happy and proud to stand in solidarity with the front line health care workers who risk their lives every day to help others.”

    There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Spotify.

  • Barry Manilow quashes rumours of removing his music from Spotify

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Grammy winner Barry Manilow has quashed down rumours of him removing his music from Spotify, following what fellow iconic musician Neil Young did earlier this week.

    “I recently heard a rumour about me and Spotify. I don’t know where it started, but it didn’t start with me or anyone who represents me,” the singer tweeted on Friday.

    I recently heard a rumor about me and Spotify. I don’t know where it started, but it didn’t start with me or anyone who represents me.
    — Barry Manilow (@barrymanilow) January 28, 2022
    Rumours of the ‘Mandy’ artist pulling his music off from Spotify started doing the rounds on the internet after actor Debra Messing mistakenly tagged Manilow instead of Neil Young in her tweet thanking the artist for protesting Spotify’s handling of misinformation coming from Joe Rogan’s podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience.’

    Young moved to Amazon Music on Wednesday after his music was taken down from Spotify in protest of Rogan, with the artist saying that he “could not continue to support Spotify’s life-threatening misinformation to the music-loving public.”

    As per The Hollywood Reporter, the podcast host has recently faced pushback from listeners and medical professionals over a late December episode that featured a known vaccine sceptic who shared a baseless theory that people have been “hypnotized” to believe facts about COVID-19 and compared the current pandemic policies to Nazi Germany.

    “We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon,” a Spotify spokesperson said Wednesday about Young’s departure from the platform. 

  • Spotify decides to take down Neil Young songs over Joe Rogan Covid vaccination misinformation row

    By Online Desk

    Spotify has decided to remove Neil Young music honouring the musician’s request to do so over its relationship with star podcaster Joe Rogan’s comments about vaccinations.

    Neil Young, the Heart of Gold singer had posted a letter, since deleted, to his management team and record label demanding to remove his music from Spotify, since, Young added, Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.

    “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” he continued. “They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both.”

    On his podcast, Rogan has made frequent false and inaccurate claims surrounding vaccines and Covid-19. Earlier this month, a group of more than 250 scientists, doctors and nurses penned an open letter to Spotify condemning the streamer for platforming Rogan and calling on Spotify to warn its listeners about misinformation.

    The singer reportedly has 6.1 m monthly listeners on Spotify.

    Now, the streaming giant said it tried to achieve balance and had removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.

    “We want all the world’s music and audio content to be available to Spotify users,” the company said in a statement.

    “With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators.”

    It added: “We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.”