SiriusXM Relaunches Neil Young Radio Amid His Spotify Boycott

Just a day after Spotify yanked Neil Young’s music, SiriusXM has decided to relaunch Neil Young Radio. The move follows Young’s scathing letter to Spotify that announced he was boycotting the streaming service. Young accused the platform of perpetuating COVID disinformation by hosting podcasters like Joe Rogan. As reported by Variety, SiriusXM first created Neil Young Radio in December as a “limited-run channel,” and is resurrecting the channel for 7 days on the platform’s Deep Tracks channel and for a full month on the radio’s app. Though SiriusXM also features far-right shows, its broadcast licenses inhibit a rights-holder, like Young, from keeping their music off the airwaves. Per Variety, Steve Blatter, SiriusXM’s senior vice president and general manager of music programming said in a statement, “When you have an opportunity to present an iconic artist still at the height of his creativity, you don’t hesitate to do it, again.”