The rock legend’s music was removed in protest of Spotify podcaster Joe Rogan, but there are plenty of other places to hear him.
Ty Pendlebury
Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Neil Young performed during the Harvest The Hope concert in 2014 in Nebraska.
Spotify has answered Neil Young’s challenge. The service deleted the artist’s entire back catalog this week after Young offered an “it’s-him-or-me” ultimatum, forcing the streaming giant to choose between him and podcaster Joe Rogan.
Rogan’s show, a Spotify exclusive, has been repeatedly criticized by medical experts for being a source of COVID-19 misinformation to his millions of listeners. So where does that leave Young fans?
There are still plenty of music streaming services you can hear the work of the rock legend, including one you may not have heard of.
Young has been banging the “hi-res is the best way to hear music” drum for a long time — we still remember when he said Amazon was going to change the Earth forever. While Spotify has yet to unveil its higher-quality streaming service, there are a number of competitors that will gladly stream his songs at the highest possible bit rate.
Whether you’re looking for a Spotify alternative because you’re a fan of Young or because you support his anti-Rogan stance, here are your best options:
Other services that are also still streaming Young include Deezer, Napster, YouTube Music, and Pandora Premium. In addition, SiriusXM has revived its Neil Young radio channel.
This latest standoff is likely just the beginning of a long-coming reckoning for Spotify and for streaming services in general, as the industry grapples with issues such as exclusivity, artist payments and social responsibility. This may be the first big split between musicians and podcasters, but it’s unlikely to be the last as more and more people vote with their clicks — and their wallets.
