$100 million deal The podcaster, who has a $100-million (90 million euros) multi-year exclusive deal with Spotify, was kept on, and Spotify complied with Young's demand and started removing his catalogue of songs.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex raised concerns over misinformation on the platform, but said they were "committed to continuing" their lucrative content deal despite "concerns." "We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis," said a spokesperson for Archewell, the Duke and Duchess' organisation, in a statement. "We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does." 'Regret' Spotify voiced "regret" over Young's move but cited a need to balance "both safety for listeners and freedom for creators." Spotify's move drew applause online from organisations including video-streaming platform Rumble, which credited the Swedish company with "defending creators" and standing "up for free speech." But Young, 76, also garnered wide praise for taking a stand, including from the World Health Organization chief.
The musician also urged fellow artists to follow his lead, and calls for boycotts and cancelled subscriptions flourished on social media. "Based on the feedback over the last several weeks, it's become clear to me that we have an obligation to do more to provide balance and access to widely-accepted information from the medical and scientific communities guiding us through this unprecedented time," Ek said.
In addition, Ek said the company would publish its "Platform Rules", which include guidelines for creators on what Spotify labels "dangerous" and "deceptive"