Neil Young Gives Fans A Free 4-Month Subscription To Amazon Music After Spotify Fallout 

Singer Neil Young may have left Spotify in the dust, but he still has a special gift for fans who decided to follow his lead and cancel their Spotify accounts.

In early January, hundreds of medical professionals, scientists, and researchers signed an open letter asking Spotify to stop “mass-information events” and monitor COVID-19 misinformation being spread on its platform.

One example of these “mass-information events” was Joe Rogan's podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience.” The open letter asked Spotify to “establish a clear and public policy to moderate misinformation on its platform” and accused Rogan's podcast of “broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.”

When Spotify didn’t take any action against his podcast, “Heart of Gold” singer Neil Young decided to give Spotify a choice.

“Spotify has recently become a very damaging force via its public misinformation and lies about COVID,” Young wrote in an open letter to Spotify, asking them to remove his music or regulate Joe Rogan's podcast.

“I realized I could not continue to support Spotify’s life-threatening misinformation to the music-loving public,” he continued. Although he said the move would be a “huge loss” for his record company, he felt that it was necessary to make a stand.

“I truly want to thank the many, many people who have reached out to me thanking me for taking this position — people who are health professionals on the front lines, people who have lost loved ones to COVID or who are worried for their own children and families,” he added. “I have never felt so much love coming from so many.”

Fans of the "Harvest Moon" singer when a spokesperson for Spotify released a statement saying that they planned to remove Young's music from their streaming service.

“We want all the world’s music and audio content to be available to Spotify users,” they said. “With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators.”

“We have detailed content policies in place and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID since the start of the pandemic,” they continued. “We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.”

However, Neil Young seems to have no plans to return to Spotify. Instead, he has been encouraging other artists to remove their music from the streaming service as well. Singer Joni Mitchellrecently announced that she plans to stand with Young and remove her music from Spotify.

Rumors started swirling that “Copacabana” singer Barry Manilow was joining them, but it appears there is no truth to the rumors. “I recently heard a rumor about me and Spotify,” he tweeted on Friday. “I don’t know where it started, but it didn’t start with me or anyone who represents me.”

Beginning on Friday, fans of Neil Young are now able to get a free four-month subscription to Amazon Music using the link that was created specifically for the country singer.

Shortly after removing his music from Spotify, Neil Young reached out to Amazon Music to see if they could guarantee that fans would still be able to listen to his music. As a result, Amazon created this promotion specifically for Young's fans. According to a statement made to The Hollywood Reporter, Neil Young was not paid to promote Amazon Music.

“Amazon has been leading the pack in bringing Hi-Res audio to the masses, and it’s a great place to enjoy my entire catalog in the highest quality available,” Young tweeted. “Thanks also to Apple Music (I LOVE APPLE and Qobuz for sticking with my High Res music."

He added that his music is also available in the highest quality on his website.

Although they didn't offer any promotions, Apple Music reminded fans that they could listen to Young's music on their platform as well.