Neil Young has once again taken aim at Big Tech, announcing that he will remove his music from Amazon Music over political and economic concerns. The Canadian-American singer-songwriter, whose career spans more than six decades, urged fans to abandon Amazon and its subsidiaries like Whole Foods in favor of buying local and direct. His decision highlights a growing movement among artists who are challenging the influence of major corporations on music and society.
Criticism of Bezos and the “Corporate Control Age”
Young’s October 8 announcement came with sharp criticism of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whom he accused of supporting a government that “does not support you or me.” In a post on his website, Young wrote: “Forget Amazon and Whole Foods. Buy local. Buy direct. Bezos supports this government. It does not support you or me.” He framed his move as part of a broader call to resist what he described as the “Corporate Control Age,” urging fans to support their communities instead of multinational giants.
A History of Platform Boycotts
This is not the first time Young has pulled his music from a major platform. In early 2022, he removed his catalog from Spotify over concerns about COVID-19 misinformation spread by podcaster Joe Rogan. Although he returned to Spotify in March 2024, citing limited alternatives for streaming, his distrust of corporate platforms has remained consistent. More recently, Young left Facebook over its AI chatbot policies and abandoned X (formerly Twitter) after Elon Musk was reported to have endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.
Other Artists Join the Resistance
Meanwhile, other artists have joined the wave of resistance. Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor pulled nearly their entire catalog from streaming services. In July, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard withdrew from Spotify in protest of CEO Daniel Ek’s investment in defense technology. Deerhoof also departed, declaring: “We don’t want our music killing people. We don’t want our success being tied to AI battle tech.”
Therefore, Neil Young’s latest stand against Amazon underscores a larger cultural shift. Artists are increasingly willing to sacrifice reach and revenue to align their music with their values. Whether fans follow his call to “buy local” remains uncertain, but his message is clear—resisting corporate dominance in music is about more than streaming. It is about how communities choose to support the art they value.
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