Neil Young’s radio channel on Sirius XM is revived after Spotify removal

The folk-rock star had over six million monthly listeners on Spotify, which he blames for spreading fake information about vaccines.

Neil Young has publicly rebuked Spotify Technology SA for hosting the Joe Rogan podcast.

As Neil Young’s music was coming down from the world’s largest streaming service yesterday, satellite radio giant SiriusXM went to him to strike a deal.

SiriusXM announced the return of ” Neil Young Radio,” a satellite and streamed channel featuring Mr. Young introducing his songs and telling stories. Sirius XM Holdings Inc. reached out to Mr Young’s camp Wednesday, according to a person close to the company, as the dramatic and public standoff was unfolding.

Mr. Young publicly rebuked Spotify Technology SA for hosting the Joe Rogan podcast, which he said has spread false information about Covid-19 vaccines. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” he wrote in an open letter earlier this week.

On Wednesday, Warner Music Group Corp., which licenses the music to streaming services, officially requested Mr Young’s dozens of albums be removed, and Spotify complied, noting it hoped to work with Mr Young again in the future.

“Now seems like a good time to let you know @NeilYoungNYA Radio is back on SiriusXM,” SiriusXM tweeted with a winky-face emoji.

The channel originally launched in December on a limited run, and now it has returned for seven days to SiriusXM satellite and will stream for a month on the SXM app.

With Mr Young music’s no longer on Spotify, his economics have changed. While he said he’s losing out on 60% of his streaming income, the market is adjusting as other services take steps to capitalize on courting the folk-rock singer and his loyal listeners. This dustup drew listeners to his music in objection or support of both him and Spotify.

Spotify declined to comment. Mr Young and Mr Rogan’s representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment.

“Outspoken, brave, and a true music icon, Neil Young is in a rare class of artists, and we are honored to collaborate with him to create a special audio experience for his fans,” Steve Blatter, SiriusXM senior vice president and general manager of music programming, said.

In another post on his website Wednesday, Mr Young made a plug for other services, pointing to Amazon Music, Apple Music and Qobuz, which “present my music today in all its high-resolution glory -- the way it is intended to be heard.” Hi-fi streaming service Tidal, which Mr Young has championed for its sound quality, retweeted a fan’s observation: “Love that Neil Young is trending on Tidal” and then shared a meme welcoming fresh recruits, asking “who all new here.”

The folk-rock star had over six million monthly listeners on Spotify. Picture: AP

“It’s always a good idea to stream @NeilYoungNYA,” Apple Music tweeted, with a link to its Neil Young Essentials playlist.

Social media has been abuzz with both fans and detractors -- new and old -- of Mr. Young, Mr. Rogan and Spotify. While some listeners said they were even more interested in listening to Mr. Rogan’s podcast, the hashtags #DeleteSpotify, #SpotifyDeleted and #cancelspotify were trending on Twitter Thursday.

Senator Rand Paul tweeted about free speech mimicking Mr Young’s famous protest song, “Ohio” with: “Bye Bye, Hey Hey, Neil Young is gone today, It’s better to boycott, Than to just obey, Bye Bye, Hey Hey.”

Wall Street Journal