“I believe they’re safe and encourage many people to take them.” Yet he has still booked anti-vaccine guests. “I’m not an anti-vax person,” Rogan responded. Last April, Rogan said that if you are young, fit and healthy, then you do not need a vaccine, attracting criticism from Biden’s chief medical advisor, Anthony Fauci. He is a bullish libertarian who initially backed Sanders in the 2020 election but ended up preferring Donald Trump to Joe Biden. Rogan’s politics are broadly contrarian with a rightward skew. But he has also entertained figures from the “alt-right” such as the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, the Proud Boys co-founder Gavin McInnes and the provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. His guests have included Kanye West, Elon Musk, Quentin Tarantino and Bernie Sanders. In the opposite corner is Rogan, a former comedian and martial artist who has recorded close to 1,800 episodes since launching his podcast in 2009. For less comfortable artists, Spotify could be too big to quit. Last year, he sold 50% of the rights to his song catalogue to the investment fund Hipgnosis for a reported $150m.
He has a loyal fanbase that will pay for top-dollar boxsets and subscriptions to his website archive. What’s more, he can afford to take the considerable financial hit. As a survivor of childhood polio, he might also have particularly strong opinions about vaccines. He is an obsessive audiophile who temporarily removed his music from all streaming services in 2015 and a purist whose 1988 single This Note’s for You decried licensing songs to commercials. Young, the most ornery of all boomer rock legends, is the perfect antagonist. The director general of the WHO tweeted in support of Young’s boycott: “We all have a role to play to end this pandemic and infodemic.” Young’s walkout, followed later in the week by Joni Mitchell’s exit in solidarity, was prompted by an open letter calling on Spotify to counter Covid misinformation after Rogan recorded an interview with Dr Robert Malone, a virologist who has become a rightwing media star for his opposition to vaccines. He has also become explosively controversial.
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