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Fact check: Viral rumors spread misinformation about Spotify removals

Bayliss Wagner
USA TODAY

The claim: Nine artists are pulling their music from Spotify in solidarity with Neil Young 

On Jan. 24, Canadian-American musician Neil Young demanded that Spotify either remove his music or remove comedian Joe Rogan's podcast, which he said was spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. Two days later, Spotify granted Young's request.

A handful of artists followed suit. But some social media posts have mixed up the facts.

Over 1,200 users shared a Jan. 29 tweet that claimed nine artists were joining the boycott against Spotify.

"Breaking: Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Queen, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Dave Grohl, Joni Mitchell, Pearl Jam are removing their music from Spotify in solidarity with Neil Young!!!" the post reads.

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A screenshot of the tweet migrated to Facebook, where it racked up more than 1,400 shares within three days.

However, among the artists listed in the post, only Mitchell had publicly moved to pull her catalog from Spotify as of Feb. 2.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook and Twitter users who shared the claim for comment.

This combination photo shows Neil Young in Calabasas, California., left, and UFC announcer and podcaster Joe Rogan before a UFC event in Seattle.

Mitchell wants music pulled from Spotify

On Jan. 28, Mitchell, a Canadian singer-songwriter, said on her website that she wanted her music pulled from Spotify in solidarity with Young. Her music still appeared on the platform as of Feb. 2.

The rest of the artists mentioned in the claim have made no such announcements.

As of Feb. 2, the catalogs of Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam and Dave Grohl were still available on Spotify. USA TODAY did not find evidence that any of those artists have made public plans to remove their work from the platform.

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At the time the tweet was posted Jan. 29, the only other artist that had publicly said they would join Young was guitarist Nils Lofgren, who will remove his solo recordings. Lofgren has been a member of Springsteen's backing band, E Street Band, since 1984.

"It may not mean a hill of beans but @nilslofgren is taking his catalog off @Spotify," his wife, Amy Lofgren, tweeted Jan. 26. "We will miss the $3.28 we get a year but we will forge ahead righteously."

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Since then, two other artists – former Young bandmate Graham Nash and R&B singer India Arie – have announced they also want their music removed from Spotify.

Our rating: Partly false

Based on our research, we rate PARTLY FALSE the claim that nine artists are pulling their music from Spotify in solidarity with Young. USA TODAY and other outlets have reported that Mitchell is working to remove her catalog, but there's no evidence the other eight artists have made similar public announcements. All of their catalogs were still available on the platform as of Feb. 2.

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