Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter India Arie has drawn a line in the sand against the popular digital streaming platform Spotify.
Alongside Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and other COVID-19 anti-misinformation advocates, Arie made a statement via Instagram, stating that she wants her music – as well as her podcast – pulled from Spotify, citing issues with Joe Rogan and interviews stemming from The Joe Rogan Experience.
“I have decided to pull my music and podcast from Spotify,” Arie wrote in an emotional post on IG. “Neil Young opened a door that I MUST walk through. I believe in freedom of speech.”
Previous concerns regarding Joe Rogan’s podcast were aimed at alleged misinformation about COVID-19 and its vaccine; Arie spoke to other issues, such as Rogan’s conversation around race, and Spotify’s treatment of the media giant as opposed to the platform’s musical artists.
“However, I find Joe Rogan problematic for reasons OTHER than his Covid interviews,” the neo-soul artist added. “FOR ME ITS ALSO HIS language around race. What I am talking about is RESPECT – who gets it and who doesn’t. Paying musicians a fraction of a penny and HIM $100M? This shows the type of company they are and the company that they keep. I’m tired.”
In the aftermath of the allegations surrounding COVID-19 misinformation, Rogan took to social media on Sunday to respond to criticism he’s been receiving from advocates, musicians and more recently, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
“I’m not trying to promote misinformation; I’m not trying to be controversial. I’ve never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people and have interesting conversations,” Rogan said in a 9-minute video posted to Instagram on Sunday.
“I want to show all kinds of opinions so that we can all figure out what’s going on and not just about Covid, about everything about health, about fitness, wellness, the state of the world,” Rogan added.
While it still remains unclear how many more artists will follow in the footsteps of Arie, Young and Mitchell; their decision to pull their content from Spotify speaks to how polarizing the topic of Covid-19 has become since its emergence in 2020.