A day after Neil Young’s music left Spotify, the “Heart of Gold” singer is showing nothing but love for Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Music.
Big free-trial love that is, and a solid middle finger to Spotify.
Having requested earlier this week that his songs leave the Swedish music streamer if Spotify continued to support Joe Rogan’s “spread of misinformation” over Covid vaccines, Young took to social media this afternoon to praise Amazon Music and offer relocating fans a sweet deal:
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All folks looking for my music can easily head to AMAZON MUSIC and click here https://t.co/xvhKGMkA36 – all new listeners will get four months free. pic.twitter.com/a66GaGUKEk
— Neil Young Archives (@NeilYoungNYA) January 28, 2022
My music is also available in the highest quality at https://t.co/Lw3ovmPLRt
love earth
be well
neil— Neil Young Archives (@NeilYoungNYA) January 28, 2022
The idea for the nearly 120-day free-trial period came after Young got in touch with Amazon, a well-placed source confirms to Deadline.
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All of Young’s extensive catalog spanning more than 50 years has been on Amazon Music for quite a while, but this dust-up with Spotify and its $100 million podcaster Rogan certainly puts a very big spotlight on that fact for fans and followers of science.
“They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” the rocker wrote in an open letter. “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.”
While Young’s albums are all gone from Spotify, songs from his former bands Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young remain on the subscription music service.
Amazon Music is not the only Spotify competitor that wants to get into the Neil Young business. Apple Music has been trolling Spotify and promoting themselves as the the home of Neil Young since yesterday.
The home of Neil Young.
Listen to his entire catalog on Apple Music: https://t.co/sUGtz4JbB9 pic.twitter.com/YgRMygUqhi
— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) January 28, 2022
Young has a history of speaking out about how and where his music is used. During the presidential push in 2020, he filed a copyright infringement suit against Donald Trump’s campaign over the the-president using Young’s songs at rallies. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer bristled over Trump’s use of “Rockin’ in the Free World,” “Like a Hurricane” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” during Trump’s rally at Mount Rushmore that year.
In 2015, Young objected to the Trump campaign’s use of one of those same songs when the then-reality host announced his presidential campaign. “Donald Trump was not authorized to use ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ in his presidential candidacy announcement,” read a statement from Young’s reps at the time. “Neil Young, a Canadian citizen, is a supporter of Bernie Sanders for President of the United States Of America.”
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