NEIL YOUNG SPOTIFY LISTENERS ARCHIVE

This portal not only allows his own super-fans access to his complete catalog of music (in a hi-res format, naturally), but also to view digitized relics from his career, including exclusive videos, photos- and even live streams of his modern tours.Īccess to Young’s Archive sets you back a mere $1.99 a month and, according to Wired, had already attracted 25,000 subscribers by the end of October last year, with a goal of 40,000. It’s through this lens that I’d now like you to consider Young’s own online subscription service - the Neil Young Archives.

His long-held belief in HD music had just been vindicated by one of the biggest (some would say rapaciously expansive) companies on the planet.Īllow me, then, to lead you toward an alternate retrospective tale one which vanquishes any suggestion of Neil Young as a myopic fuddy-duddy, scrabbling to deal with the realities of the Spotify age - and instead views him as someone provably ahead of the curve of music-technological trends (albeit not always with the most rip-roaring tech at his disposal). Titter all you want it’s no wonder Young was beating his chest. The legendary Canadian songwriter noted - with just a wisp of hyperbole - that, via Amazon’s hi-res music introduction, “Earth will be changed forever.” Squaring the circle, Neil Young was quoted in an Amazon press release last year announcing the arrival of its HD music tier. Particularly so because Amazon Music, according to Midia Research, now looks set to overtake Apple Music in global subscriber volume terms this year. Neil Young’s insistence that hardcore music fans would be willing to pay extra for a high-definition digital music experience looks less outmoded in 2020 than it did in 2015, now that Amazon has put an HD-quality up-sell at the center of its multi-tiered music streaming offering. With half a decade in the rearview mirror since Pono’s arrival, however, there may be another, more valuable take on its creator to consider. ArsTechnica called the $400 PonoPlayer: “A tall, refreshing drink of snake oil.” The Washington Post one-upped that for cruelty, asking: “Has Neil Young finally managed to make something worse than Trans ?” Pono effectively shut down in 2016, out of cash and getting it in the neck from critics. By summer 2015, reports suggested the venture was running out of money at one point, Young even asked a pre-presidential Donald Trump for financial help. “Somehow things shifted we went into the background and have to come forward.” “They’re the carrier - we’re the artists,” grumbled Madonna. A chorus of superstars began echoing a different narrative: that Tidal could help them wrest back control from the likes of Spotify.

Unfortunately for Tidal, Harris’ clarion message - that of higher-quality audio, for higher-quality music fans - soon became muddled by others central to the same campaign. These were the words of superstar DJ/producer Calvin Harris, introducing the full-length launch trailer for the Jay-Z-founded, artist-owned streaming platform in March 2015. The story of Tidal could - and maybe should - have been very different. You tell people what they’re getting, and they’re going to hear the difference.” I try to make music to the highest quality, and that’s why this stood out. And we’re listening to it on this platform where it’s compressed. Not both.“It’s 2015, we’re making music to the highest level it sounds more amazing than ever before, in my opinion. Young continued, “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform. Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule.” On his own website, Young wrote in a now-deleted post, “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines-potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them. (Here is a clip of him being fact-checked in real-time but not admitting error.) Prior to Young’s demand, hundreds of doctors have petitioned Spotify to take action against Rogan. Young claims (and rightly so) that Rogan is giving misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines that is potentially causing serious damage, and deaths. Young is demanding that Spotify make a choice between his music or Rogan’s popular podcast. In an open letter to his management team and record label, Young has given the popular music streaming platform Spotify an ultimatum: it’s me or Joe Rogan. Neil Young is putting his money where his mouth is.

Neil young spotify listeners