Nils Lofgren joins Neil Young in pulling music from Spotify

Jan. 29 (UPI) — Nils Lofgren, the renowned rock guitarist and longtime member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, has joined Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in pulling his music from Spotify.

Lofgren announced he would pull his music catalog, which includes 28 solo records, from the streaming service in a message posted to the Neil Young Archives website in protest of COVID-19 “misinformation” spread on the platform by podcaster Joe Rogan.

“A few days ago, my wife Amy and I became aware of Neil and Daryl [Hannah] standing with hundreds of health care professionals, scientists, doctors and nurses in calling out Spotify for promoting lies and misinformation that are hurting and killing people,” Lofgren wrote in the message.

“When these heroic women and men, who’ve spent their loves healing and saving ours, cry out for help you don’t turn your back on them for money and power. You listen and stand with them.”

Apart from being a member of the E Street Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, Lofgren is also a member of Crazy Horse — which has long been associated and performed with Young. Some of Longren’s music had already been removed from the platform during Young’s exodus.

“Neil and I go back 53 years. Amy and I are honored and blessed to call Neil and Daryl friends, and knew standing with them was the right choice,” Lofgren wrote.

Lofgren said in his letter that he encourages “all musicians, artists and music lovers” to cut ties with Spotify.

“Music is our planet’s sacred weapon, uniting and healing billions of souls every day,” Lofgren said. “Pick up your sword and start swinging! Neil always has.”

Lofgren became the third major artist to pull their music from Spotify after Mitchell said Friday she would remove her music from Spotify in protest after recent controversy between Neil Young and the music streaming giant over podcaster Joe Rogan’s COVID-19 “misinformation.”

Mitchell, whose music garners 3.7 million monthly listeners on the platform, released a message to her website Friday titled “I Stand With Neil Young!” She was the first major artist to follow Young in leaving Spotify.

The singer-songwriter, who has earned nine Grammy Awards including a Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to music, has sold millions of her 19 studio albums since her career began in 1968. She has also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was ranked ninth on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

Spotify announced Wednesday that it would remove the entire catalog of Young, who has been twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Young, 76, had issued an ultimatum demanding that Spotify either remove his music or the podcast hosted by Rogan while accusing the streaming service of spreading “false information about vaccines” by allowing Rogan’s podcast to continue making controversial statements about the coronavirus.

Spotify agreed to pay Rogan $100 million in 2020 for exclusive rights to air The Joe Rogan Experience, which is one of the most popular programs in the world.