Neil Young pledges to remove music from Amazon: “Take America Back”
Neil Young has announced he is taking down his back catalogue from Amazon.
Taking to his website, Neil Young Archives, in a post criticising Amazon, Whole Foods, and Facebook, Young encouraged his fans to buy from local retailers rather than international conglomerates.
After saying Jeff Bezos “supports this government”, Young wrote: “The time is here. FORGET AMAZON. Soon my music will not be there. It is easy to buy local. Support your community. Go to the local store. Don’t go back to the big corporations who have sold out America.”
“We all have to give up something to save America from the Corporate Control Age it is entering. They need you to buy from them. Don’t,” Young’s message continued.
The singer-songwriter then wrote, “They shut down our government,” before emphasising his message by stating, “your income”, “your safety” and “your family’s health security.”
The ‘Heart of Gold’ singer encouraged his fans to “Take America Back”, to “stop buying from the
big corporations” and instead “support local business”. He powerfully concluded, “Do the right thing. Show who you are.”
Young did not clarify whether he is taking his back catalogue down from the Amazon store, or whether he is removing his music from the company’s streaming platform, Amazon Music.
In 2022, after Young removed his music from Spotify due to misinformation being aired on The Joe Rogan Experience, he teamed up with Amazon Music to give fans free four-month passes for the streaming platform.
“Amazon has been leading the pack in bringing Hi-Res audio to the masses, and it’s a great place to enjoy my entire catalog in the highest quality available,” he wrote, adding, “All folks looking for my music can easily head to AMAZON MUSIC and click here. All new listeners will get four months free.”
In 2024, Young eventually returned to Spotify following the conclusion of their exclusivity deal with The Joe Rogan Experience. He explained, “My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I opposed at Spotify. I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did with Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all.”
As it stands, Young’s music is still available to stream on Apple Music.
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