Earlier this year, Neil Young removed his music from Spotify as a protest over the streaming service being used to disseminate COVID-19 misinformation. Young wasn’t alone in this — several other artists stood with him and made a similar request, though some debate remained over whether or not the protests should have been even larger.
it was a highly public act, but also one that prompted a logical follow-up: what would the next step be? Spotify seems unlikely to part ways with Joe Rogan, whose podcast was at the center of the controversy. Would some artists eventually return to the service, or would the standoff continue indefinitely?
In the case of one artist with close ties to Young, we have an answer. Billboard reports that the music of Crosby, Stills & Nash can once again be heard on Spotify. According to a source close to the band, the group plans to donate their earnings from Spotify to COVID-19-related causes for at least a month.
Given that Spotify’s payment per stream has been the subject of some controversy over the years, it does raise the question of how much money CSN — or any comparable artist — makes from the service in a month, but that’s probably grounds for an entirely different discussion.
While Young’s old bandmates are back on Spotify, Young himself seems to be holding steady; an article at Ultimate Classic Rock notes that his music remains off the service.
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