The Duke and Duchess of Sussex join Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in calling out Spotify.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are joining the conversation surrounding the COVID-19 misinformation on Spotify. After it was revealed that Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from the streaming service, due to the misinformation on the app, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are calling for the platform to make a change.
“Since the inception of Archwell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis. Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of rampant mis- and disinformation every day,” a statement from an Archwell spokesperson said.
The statement revealed that Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, brought up their concerns about the “all too real consequences of COVID-19 misinformation,” last April.
“We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis,” the statement added. “We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does.”
In December 2020, Spotify announced that the Duke and Duchess would partner with the streaming service to put out uplifting and entertaining original content that would focus on “kindness and compassion,” through their Archwell Audio podcast. In a teaser from their podcast, the couple shared their vision.
"One of the things my husband and I have always talked about is our passion for meeting people and hearing their stories," Meghan shared. "And no matter what the story, they usually offer you an understanding of where someone else is coming from. And, at the same time, reminds you in some way of a story about yourself."
"That's what this project is all about, to bring forward different perspectives and voices that, perhaps, you haven't heard before and find out the common ground," Harry added. "Because, when that happens, change really is possible."
In 2020, the pair released a Holiday Special that included appearances from Elton John, Tyler Perry and more.
Harry and Meghan’s call out to Spotify comes after both Young and Mitchell pulled their entire music catalogs from the streaming service in response to misinformation that has been shared on Joe Rogan’s The Joe Rogan podcast. On Friday, Mitchell released a statement on her website titled, “I Stand With Neil Young,” which included an open letter to Spotify.
On Thursday, Young penned a letter telling the platform to choose between his music catalogue and Rogan's podcast. Spotify opted to side with Rogan. Young presented the ultimatum after being fed up with Rogan's "fake information about vaccines" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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