Rock icon David Crosby said he’s done with Spotify ― permanently ― and not just because of the Joe Rogan podcast that caused a number of high-profile defections from the streaming service.
“They’re not going to suddenly develop a sense of moral responsibility,” he told Stereogum. “They’re scummy people.”
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Former bandmate Neil Young publicly quit Spotify last month because of the spread of misinformation on the platform, especially from Rogan, who is being paid a reported $200 million by the company.
Young said he removed his music because the company “is spreading false information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.”
Young also urged Spotify workers to quit the company.
“Get out of that place before it eats up your soul,” he wrote.
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Several other artists joined the effort, including Joni Mitchell, India Arie, and Crosby Stills And Nash, among others.
Crosby no longer controls his music, having sold his catalog last year to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group. He told Stereogum that Azoff removed the music from Spotify at his request, even though he didn’t have to ― something Crosby called “amazing” and “really wonderful.”
Crosby said he supports free speech and Spotify’s right to carry Rogan’s podcast, but added: “I just don’t want to be associated with that guy.”
When asked if he thought the negative press would lead to changes, Crosby wasn’t optimistic.
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“I don’t see them growing a conscience,” he said. “I don’t believe there are good people working there. If they were good people, they wouldn’t work there.”
Crosby has long had issues with streaming in general and Spotify specifically over the pittance in revenues the services pay to the artists.
He shared those concerns again with Stereogum:
“I’m not willing to lick their boots because I need their pitiful $1.57 they’re paying me. They’re not doing the right thing, and in the long run it will get them. In some kind of karmic thing, it’s going to come around and crush them. I don’t know what it’ll be, but I hope it’s soon.”
Crosby, a two-time member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work in The Byrds and in Crosby, Stills and Nash, added on Twitter:
