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Neil Young has announced that he will be removing his entire music catalog from Amazon Music.
In a new post on his official archive blog, he writes: “The time has come. FORGET AMAZON. Soon my music will no longer be available there.”
At the same time, he calls on his fans to boycott large corporations such as Amazon, Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and the grocery chain Whole Foods. Instead, his fans should “support” regional shops.
Boycott appeal and archive statement
Young’s decision comes in the context of his longstanding criticism of streaming services, which he believes spread disinformation. He had already removed his music from Spotify in 2022 after episodes of the riot talker Joe Rogan’s podcast were published there, which spread swear words about COVID-19 vaccines.
With his return to Spotify in 2024 – after Apple and Amazon also took over the Rogan podcast – Young made a conciliatory statement: “Spotify, the number 1 in streaming music in low resolution – will now be the home of my songs again.”
Apple Music and Amazon now distribute similar content to Spotify. Now Young is drawing conclusions – even if he emphasizes that there are currently hardly any alternative streaming platforms for his content. Nevertheless, he does not want to continue to be part of a system that “sells America to corporations.”
Background: Spotify exit and return
In addition to his withdrawal, Young writes to US citizens: “We must all give up something to save America from the age of corporate domination.” Among other things, he criticizes Meta’s “irresponsible use of chatbots with children” – a reason why he deleted his Facebook and Instagram accounts at the beginning of the year. He had already stopped using X (formerly Twitter) at the end of 2023 after Elon Musk publicly supported anti-Semitic conspiracy stories.
Neil Young, who will celebrate his 80th birthday in mid-November, is once again sharpening his political stance in the old days. Otherwise he was also very active musically this year. With his band The Chrome Hearts he played headlining shows at the Glastonbury Festival, BST Hyde Park in London and Dublin this summer.
In this country he performed between Schalke (Veltins Arena) and Waldbühne (West Berlin). UK critics praised his (festival) performances as “powerful headline sets with old-school attitude”. Young’s songs “wouldn’t have lost any of their power without a big production.” The studio album “Talkin To The Trees” was released in June.]