Singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell is showing support for fellow musician Neil Young by removing all her music from Spotify, after Young left the streaming platform in protest against podcaster Joe Rogan.
Young, 76, a polio survivor, sent an ultimatum to the Swedish streaming service this week, demanding that it remove his music from the platform unless it dropped The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
"I realised I could not continue to support Spotify's life-threatening misinformation to the music-loving public," Young said in an open letter.
His challenge followed a demand from hundreds of medical professionals that the streaming service prevent Rogan from promoting "several falsehoods about Covid-19 vaccines," which they said is creating "a sociological issue of devastating proportions."
Rogan, 54, whose show is the platform's most popular, is widely accused of peddling conspiracy theories. He has discouraged vaccination in young people and promoted the off-label use of the anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin to treat the virus.
Last month, Rogan interviewed Dr Robert Malone, an infectious disease specialist who has been banned from Twitter for spreading Covid-19 misinformation.
"We regret Neil's decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon," Spotify said. It also said that it had policies in place to remove misleading content from its platform and has removed more than 20,000 podcast episodes related to Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.
On Thursday, Rogan, who has a $100 million multi-year exclusive deal with Spotify, was kept on while Young's hits – including Heart of Gold, Harvest Moon and Rockin' in the Free World – began vanishing from the platform.
In solidarity
Mitchell, 78, then joined the fray on Friday, saying she's also removing her music from Spotify "in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell said in a message posted on her website.
While Young had 2.4 million followers and more than six million monthly listeners on Spotify, Mitchell, who had much of her success in the 1970s, had 3.7 million monthly listeners to her music. Her songs Big Yellow Taxi and A Case of You have both been streamed more than 100 million times on the service.
The Joe Rogan Experience was Spotify's most popular podcast globally in 2021. It became exclusive to Spotify in 2020 when Rogan signed a multi-year licensing deal reportedly worth about $100 million.
Last year, Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek told Axios he didn't think Spotify – which recently began heavily investing in podcasts – had editorial responsibility for Rogan. He compared the podcaster to "really well-paid rappers," saying "we don't dictate what they're putting in their songs, either."
#DeleteSpotify trends
On Thursday, following the removal of Young's music from Spotify, rival Apple Music posted a tweet, calling itself "the home of Neil Young".
Some Apple Music users said Young's albums and playlists were heavily promoted on the platform, including a banner titled "We Love Neil."
The hashtag #DeleteSpotify also trended on Twitter as users showed their support for Young.
Spotify, which reported having 172 million paying subscribers in the third quarter of 2021, is one of the leading music platforms, while Apple has not disclosed subscriber numbers.
In his letter, Young had called on other artists to support him following his action. In a message on his website Friday, he said that “when I left Spotify, I felt better.”
“Private companies have the right to choose what they profit from, just as I can choose not to have my music support a platform that disseminates harmful information,” he wrote. “I am happy and proud to stand in solidarity with the front line health care workers who risk their lives every day to help others.”
– Additional reporting by AP and AFP
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
INFO
Everton 0
Arsenal 0
Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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EXPATS
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The biog
Prefers vegetables and fish to meat and would choose salad over pizza
Walks daily as part of regular exercise routine
France is her favourite country to visit
Has written books and manuals on women’s education, first aid and health for the family
Family: Husband, three sons and a daughter
Fathiya Nadhari's instructions to her children was to give back to the country
The children worked as young volunteers in social, education and health campaigns
Her motto is to never stop working for the country
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
