Neil Young Says He’s Returning to Spotify, Two Years After Pulling Music in Protest Over Joe Rogan’s Podcast

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Steven Miron and Steven Newhouse resigned from the Warner Bros. Discovery board after the Justice Department informed them it was investigating “whether their service on the Board of Directors violated Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act,” the company announced Monday. Miron, CEO of media company Advance/Newhouse Partnership and a senior executive officer at the Newhouse family’s investment business Advance, and Newhouse, co-president of Advance, were both independent directors of Warner Bros.

Carly Rae Jepsen, Elliot Page, Neil Young and Alanis Morissette have signed the letter, titled Artists Against Anti-Trans Legislation In Canada.Led by indie pop siblings Tegan and Sara, the letter highlighted how “far right groups are tapping into fear and pitting us against each other so they can create a Canada where we’re afraid of difference”, while using trans people as their “punching bag” and “convenient scapegoat”.The letter, published on Trans Day of Visibility, continued: “For those outside of Canada, the country is often seen as a human rights haven. However, the reality is that Canada is not immune to the global attack on the trans community and their access to inclusive spaces, healthcare and freedoms.”It went on to outline specific measures that have targeted transgender youth, including premier Danielle Smith’s proposed bans on hormonal treatment, puberty blockers and gender-confirmation surgery.Additionally, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan previously announced that parental consent will be required before schools will honour the chosen names and pronouns of children under 16.A post shared by The Tegan and Sara Foundation (@teganandsarafoundation)It continued: “The anti-trans policies taking root in Canada go beyond discrimination – they present a clear risk to the mental and physical well-being of trans individuals throughout the country.“As artists, we know the danger of a social and political environment that restricts expression, exploration, individuality and self-determination.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The battling factions of “Red vs. Blue” are getting one last adventure — in which they must team up to fight a common enemy — that will soon available on a screen near you, even though Rooster Teeth is closing its doors. “Red vs.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a federal judge Thursday. A federal jury in November 2023 convicted Bankman-Friend on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of his cryptocurrency company and related hedge fund. The charges had carried a maximum prison term of 110 years.

Gogglebox and Celebrity Big Brother stars have been sharing their messages of condolences following the tragic death of Geroge Gilbey, aged 40. His death was confirmed on Wednesday (March 28), reportedly following an accident at work that morning.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Joe Rogan‘s massively popular podcast not only drives millions of listens of his show on Spotify — it also can boost music streams of guests featured on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” too. One of Spotify’s theses behind its investment in podcasts is that they spur higher engagement for the music side of the house: Users who listen to podcasts on average listen to more music, according to the company. Now Spotify has new stats it says demonstrate that flywheel effect as it relates to Rogan’s show, which has more than 14 million followers on the platform.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A federal judge Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk‘s X against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, ruling it was “evident” the litigation was intended “to punish CCDH for CCDH publications that criticized X Corp.” X, the Musk-owned social network formerly known as Twitter, in July 2023 sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate, an independent nonprofit research group, over the organization’s findings that since the multibillionaire acquired the company hate, racism and disinformation on the social platform has substantially increased. Musk has not commented on X about the decision.

Joni Mitchell is back on Spotify, returning her music to the platform more than two years after it was pulled.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Actor and entrepreneur Blake Lively said she’s “mortified” about her joke about Kate Middleton‘s “Photoshop fails” — with the apology coming after the Princess of Wales confirmed Friday that she has undergone treatment for cancer. “I’m sure no one cares today but I feel like I have to acknowledge this,” Lively said in a message shared Friday on her Instagram account.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Without fanfare, Joni Mitchell‘s music catalog is again on Spotify — a little over two years after she pulled her work from the streaming platform in solidarity with longtime friend and collaborator Neil Young in a protest over Joe Rogan’s podcast spreading COVID misinformation. Mitchell didn’t announce her return to Spotify, but as of Friday it appeared that her original albums were again available including 1969’s “Clouds” with her original recording of “Both Sides Now.” Also back on Spotify are “Blue” (1971), “Court and Spark” (1974) and “Mingus” (1979), as noted by the New York Times.

Joni Mitchell‘s music has finally been made available on Spotify once again.Two years ago, Mitchell announced that she would be removing her entire catalog from streaming giant Spotify in solidarity with Neil Young after he withdrew his music from the platform in protest of the service platforming misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine.As of today (March 22), Mitchell’s music has been reinstated, less than two weeks after Young announced his return to the platform. Mitchell has yet to publicly comment on her return to the platform.In January 2022, Young announced his withdrawal from Spotify over concerns that the streaming giant was giving “irresponsible” podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney‘s current strategic direction under CEO Bob Iger got the thumbs-up from independent proxy voting and corporate governance advisory firm Glass Lewis, amid a campaign launched by two activist investor groups to win seats on the Mouse House’s board. Glass Lewis, in a March 18 report, recommended Disney shareholders vote for the Disney-selected 12 director nominees — and reject those put forward by Nelson Peltz‘s Trian Partners and another firm, Blackwells Capital — at the company’s annual meeting on April 3.

Nicky Hilton has finally shared her son's unique name, almost two years after his birth. The fashionista, who is a member of the Hilton family along with older sister Paris Hilton, has been secretive about her third born for some time. But 40-year-old, who shares three children with James Rothschild, has now revealed that they named their son Chasen.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney+ is officially in its Taylor Swift era. With the launch of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)” on Disney+ on March 14 at 6 p.m. PT, the megastar is getting a homepage takeover on the streamer.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Pornhub and other affiliated adult websites have blocked access to users in Texas, amid a legal battle with the Lone Star State’s attorney general over an age-verification law. Last week, a federal appeals court upheld a Texas law requiring pornography sites to institute age-verification measures to ensure only adults 18 and older are able to access them, while it also struck down a part of the law requiring porn sites to display “health warnings” about the content.

Neil Young has announced his return to Spotify for the first time since 2022, though he doesn’t seem to happy with the decision – see what he had to say below.In January 2022, Neil Young announced that he would be removing his music from Spotify after episodes of Joe Rogan’s controversial podcast spread misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines. At the time, Joe Rogan’s podcast was signed exclusively to Spotify.In November 2022, Young doubled down on removing his music from Spotify, explaining that the streamer was putting out low-resolution versions of his music: “Why would I keep it on there when it sounds like a pixelated movie?”The Joe Rogan Experience‘s exclusivity to Spotify has since ended, and has been picked up by Apple and Amazon, prompting Young’s return to Spotify.

Max George has been forced to pull out of an upcoming role for medical reasons. The singer was due to make his stage debut on the adaption of the late Kay Mellor’s TV series The Syndicate.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor When Hollywood accurately depicts work-family and gender-equity scenarios on screen, it’s good for business by driving up viewership and engagement, according to a new research study. The vast majority of engaged streaming viewers in the U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok, the massively popular video app owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance, apparently has an ally in Donald Trump. The former U.S. president expressed opposition to a national ban of TikTok not for, say, First Amendment reasons but because such a move would likely boost the fortunes of Meta’s Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney CEO Bob Iger acknowledged that the company is behind Netflix in terms of technical capabilities — and that the Mouse House is in the process of catching up. “We need to be at their level” of technical capability, in order to reduce marketing expenses and cut churn rates, Iger said about Netflix, speaking Tuesday at the 2024 Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. Iger reiterated that Disney is on track to achieve profitability in the streaming business — which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ — by the fiscal quarter that ends September 2024.