Photo Credit: Marc Millman

Neil Young has announced that he will return his music to Spotify after two years away from the platform. In a brief message posted to his website titled “MY RETURN TO LOW RES SPOTIFY,” the legendary singer-songwriter explained that his decision to restore his presence “comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at SPOTIFY,” alluding to the conclusion of the platform’s exclusive streaming deal with Joe Rogan.

Following the public reveal of this over $200 million deal, Young pulled his music from Spotify on Jan. 26, 2022. In an open letter titled “SPOTIFY: IN THE NAME OF TRUTH,” the artist decried the “dangerous life-threatening COVID falsehoods found in SPOTIFY programming” and opted to part with 60% of his streaming base–an estimated $16,000 of royalties monthly, per Billboard–rather than abide what he saw as “[l]ies being sold for money.” Other legacy acts like Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Nils Lofgren joined Young in his protest, marking their collective objection to Rogan’s commentary by removing their catalogs from the service.

Young’s return to Spotify is not without enduring qualms, particularly with the audio quality offered by what he terms “the #1 streamer of low res music in the world.” Instead, the artist’s move is inspired by a desire to expand his fans’ access to his music, understanding that if he were to strike his recordings from the latest services to host Rogan’s show, his catalog “would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all.” With this, Young joins Crosby, Stills and Nash on Spotify once more, as Mitchell and Lofgren continue to hold out.

Young and Crazy Horse will take their music on the road next month with the Love Earth Tour, which will bring the band to a total 16 engagements across North America from April 24 to May 23. This run will follow the release of F##kin’ Up, Young and Crazy Horse’s 16th shared studio album, which is set to release on all streaming services on April 26. Listen to the lead single, “Broken Circle (Over and Over),” below.

To read Young’s message to his fans in full, visit neilyoungarchives.com.