The Joe Rogan / Neil Young story just will not go away.
This morning I said 'I'm done writing about it.' Just as I thought that thought, I came across this meme:
In 2020, Joe Rogan sold the rights to his podcast, both archived and to an undisclosed time in the future, to Spotify for $100 million.
In 2021, Neil Young sold the rights to his musical library, 1,000 + songs strong, to the Hipgnosis Songs Fund for $150 million. *
What does that * mean? Good question. Supposedly Neil Young only sold HALF the rights to Hipgnosis. Also "supposedly" Young retains control of where his music can be sold. I can't seem to find the specifics of the deal, only that Young's music can't be sold to Burger King if Young doesn't allow it.
But then what's Young's library worth if you can't sell his music? If he doesn't want it sold to Burger King or allow it to be played on Spotify, how does Hipgnosis make a return on investment? Where's the line? Does Young have veto powers over fast food companies but not electric car companies?
Which means Capitalist Neil Young isn't telling you something. Either Hipgnosis has a deal in place to acquire the exclusive rights later, making the $150 million a down payment for down the road, or Young is simply lying about certain aspects of the deal. So besides the Conspiracy Theory which links Hipgnosis to Pfizer, (which, admittedly, is a stretch) Young wants you to believe that he has $150 million in the bank but still has full control of his music?
I find that very, very, very, very hard to believe.
Listen, I am probably the wrong guy for this topic. I think Neil Young is overrated and I don't listen to Podcasts. I listen to AM Radio.
But no matter what platform, whether it be terrestrial radio, Spotify, or Facebook, when one artist dictates content of another artist be removed due to politics, that is a fundamental erosion of free speech. Period.
Whether Neil Young or Joe Rogan want to admit it, they are both part of the 1%. Think about that before you say either one is right or wrong.
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