Neil Young Thanks Catalog Co-Owners for Spotify Support
Neil Young thanked the co-owners of his catalog for their support in his bid to have Spotify remove his material, acknowledging it was a “costly move.”
Hipgnosis Song Fund purchased 50 percent of Young’s material for a reported $150 million last year. Earlier this week the singer-songwriter demanded the deletion of his tracks from the streaming platform, saying he didn’t want to share space with those who spread pandemic misinformation.
Responding to Spotify’s confirmation that the removal was happening, Young wrote on his website: “I want to thank my partners for standing with me. My deal with Merck Mercuriadis and Hipgnosis began on Jan. 1, 2021. The company Hipgnosis now has part of my publishing, and I am very happy with their support. I want to personally thank Merck and Hipgnosis for standing with me. Losing 60 percent of worldwide streaming income by leaving Spotify is a very big deal, a costly move, but worth it for our integrity and beliefs.”
He added his thanks to his “good friends at Warner Brothers/Reprise” and added that "misinformation about COVID cannot be accepted. I sincerely hope that other artists can make a move, but I can’t really expect that to happen. I did this because I had no choice in my heart. It is who I am. I am not censoring anyone. I am speaking my own truth. I know Daniel Ek, who owns Spotify, a private business. I like Daniel. I wish he had not taken the steps he has taken, because it stopped my music from being shared on his Spotify platform. It stopped us from working together to spread the music. But we are still friends.”
Young concluded: “Warner and Hipgnosis, my great partners, are standing with me to help stop the flow of misinformation from Spotify. Thanks so much to all of you. We did what we had to do.”