Spotify Newsletter #94

Jan 28

Welcome to the latest issue of Spotify Newsletter. Thanks for reading!! I guess the ‘kerfuffle of the week’ featured angry Neil Young threatening to pull his music from Spotify to protest what he believes is Joe Rogan’s anti-vax misinformation.

So much for rockin’ in the free world. I applaud the Spotify brass for ignoring this utter nonsense - especially from someone with his own long and winding record of spreading scientific misinformation.

Did Young honestly think Spotify was going to toss overboard one of the biggest podcasts in the universe so people could have access to stream tracks from ‘Trans’ or ‘Landing on Water’? To say nothing of just allowing people to think for themselves and listen to who they want, when they want - and take responsibility along the way.

In the end… Spotify laughed off Young’s demands and on Wednesday pulled his music off the platform.

A good comment on Twitter noted that last year Young sold half his publishing rights to his entire song catalog to Hipgnosis. Curious to hear what they have to say about this absurdness.

Freedom of speech and the opportunity to engage with a variety of opinions (good, bad, or otherwise) is far more important than anything on ‘After the Gold Rush’. I’m a big fan of Neil Young’s music, but he is not the arbiter of all that is pure and truthful in the world. He took his ball and went home. So, goodbye.

Moving on…

★In the SPOTlight★

⭐️ Why Spotify can’t afford to lose Joe Rogan

Spotify’s thinking is obvious. What does losing Young mean? The company’s not financially dependent on his streams or subscribers — Drake or Taylor Swift might be a different story — and barring a mass exodus of subscribers over his missing catalog, things remain business as usual.
In fact, the company loses money every time someone streams Young’s songs, which is why Spotify wanted to get into podcasting in the first place. It makes money every time someone listens to Rogan.

⭐️ Stripe Teams With Spotify to Drive Subscription Monetization for Creators

Spotify aims to connect creators with fans and help those creative artists make a living from their art, the release stated. Spotify recently introduced Podcast Subscriptions that enable podcasters to charge a monthly fee for their content.

⭐️ Spotify For Artists Launches New ‘Made To Be Found’ Microsite

Spotify for Artists has launched Made to be Found, a new website aimed to serve as a guide for artists to understand the different ways music is discovered by fans on Spotify.
Made to Be Found details how music goes from distribution and playlist pitching, to three key pathways to reaching listener.