David Crosby, Stephen Stills back Neil Young in Spotify row; demand music be removed

CSNY is a popular band, whose member Neil Young recently called out Spotify for spreading misinformation about COVID through Joe Rogan’s popular show. His bandmates David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash have now followed in the footsteps of Nash and released a joint statement announcing that they do not want their music on the popular platform.

David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash support Neil Young in ongoing controversy

David Crosby took to his Twitter account and released the statement from him, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash. The statement mentioned that the trio was in agreement with their bandmate, who recently took down his music from Spotify. They mentioned that there is 'dangerous disinformation' being aired via Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has 'deadly consequences'. They mentioned that until there is 'real action' taken with reference to the issue, they did not want their music to be played through the platform. The statement read-

"We support Neil and we agree with him that there is dangerous disinformation being aired on Spotify's Joe Rogan podcast. While we value alternative points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences. Until real action is taken to show that a concern for humanity must be balanced with commerce, we don’t want our music - or the music we made together - to be on the same platform."

Amid the recent Spotify controversy, Graham Nash also earlier put out a separate statement boycotting the platform. He mentioned that the music streaming platform should be more 'responsible and accountable' for the content they put out. His statement read-

"Having heard the Covid disinformation spread by Joe Rogan on Spotify, I completely agree with and support my friend, Neil Young. There is a difference between being open to varying viewpoints on a matter and knowingly spreading false information which some 270 medical professionals have derided not only false but dangerous. Likewise, there is a difference between misinformation, in which one is unaware that what is being said is false, versus disinformation which is knowingly false and intended to mislead and sway public opinion. In this case, in a way that could cost people their lives. It should also be acknowledged that many younger musicians, and many musicians of all ages, rely on platforms like this to gain exposure to a wider audience and share their music with the world. Not everyone is able to take steps like this which is all the more reason that platforms like Spotify must be more responsible and accountable for the content they are obligated to moderate for the good of the public at large."

India Arie also recently issued a statement boycotting Spotify and mentioned that she believes Joe Rogan is 'problematic for reasons other than his Covid interviews'. Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren also followed in the footsteps of Young and have taken down their work from Spotify.

Image: AP