Bruce Springsteen guitarist joins Spotify boycott over COVID-19 misinformation

Rock of Roll Hall of Famer Nils Lofgren, a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, has joined fellow musicians Joni Mitchell and Neil Young in their boycott of Spotify over COVID1-9 misinformation on its podcasts.  

In a statement, Lofgren, along with his wife Amy, urged other musicians to join the boycott in order to stand with health care professionals, scientists and doctors in calling out the streaming platform for spreading false information about COVID-19. 

“Music is our planet’s sacred weapon, uniting and healing billions of souls every day. Pick up your sword and start swinging! Neil always has. Stand with him, us (Joni Mitchell!), and others,” Lofgren said in a statement. 

“It’s a powerful action you can all take now, to honor truth, humanity and the heroes risking their lives every day to save ours,” he added. 

Young delivered an ultimatum to Spotify earlier this week demanding it take action against COVID-19 misinformation on Joe Rogan’s podcast or remove his music from its service. Spotify announced a few days later that it had decided to take down Young’s music. 

Mitchell announced she was joining Young’s boycott on Friday. 

“I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue,” Mitchell said in a statement.

On Sunday, Spotify announced new changes to its platform rules which include a content advisory for any podcast episode that discusses COVID-19, however its statement did not directly reference Rogan or specific musicians. 

“To our knowledge, this content advisory is the first of its kind by a major podcast platform,” Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, said in a statement about the measure.