What is Canada’s greatest export? Molson’s? Canadian bacon? Hockey? If you’re a fan of classic rock you might say Neil Young. In his 50 plus year career Young has produced dozens of truly classic songs. He is also one of, if not the, most versatile of modern artists. His catalog includes folk, hard rock, country, and even electronic music and rockabilly.
Many of Young’s most beloved songs (Ohio, Helpless, After the Gold Rush) reflect his strong political beliefs—particularly his opposition to war and his support for environmental causes. Unfortunately, that political passion has recently led him to take an action that will hurt his existing fans and limit his ability to make new ones. The action in question is his recent decision to remove his catalog from Amazon Music, one of the world’s most popular streaming services. Young took this action because he disagreed with Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos’s alleged "support for President Trump".
Young also called on his fans to boycott Amazon and Amazon-owned businesses like Whole Foods, as well as Meta-owned properties like Facebook and Instagram over Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s supposed support for President Trump. He urged his fans to shun big tech and “buy local.” Young is certainly within his rights to do what he's done. Just the same, having a right to do something does not mean you should do it.
The most obvious problem with Young’s decision is that abandoning Amazon means taking from his fans the ability to get his music at an affordable price with quick delivery, as well as streaming music and other media. Abandoning social media platforms like Facebook deprives individuals of the ability to connect with friends and family that live across the country or even across the globe. It also deprives them of the opportunity to make new friends who share common interests—such as the music of Neil Young. Social media communities make it possible for individuals to share stories about how artists like Neil Young touched their lives, as well as to learn about upcoming tours and other projects.
Amazon also makes it possible for small businesses that use their platform to reach consumers around the country—and even around the globe—who would otherwise be unreachable. This benefits both the businesses—who without Amazon would be unable to establish and grow an online presence—and Amazon users who discover new sources of goods. If Neil Young fans followed his advice to buy local, small businesses would be the main ones hurt!
Young once again says his fans should boycott big tech (and presumably other big businesses) because of their support for President Trump. However, he does not specify if his call to buy local applies to local businesses that may support President Trump or other conservative politicians because they like low taxes and fewer regulations, policies that benefit not just business owners, but consumers and workers. Perhaps Young expects consumers to ask businesses if the owners or management support President Trump, or at least find out if they agree with Neil Young’s position on the major issues of they day.
Young’s statement that his fans should support small businesses because the government, Amazon, or at least its founder and CEO, are “not supporting you and me," assumes a degree of uniformity of ideology and economic interest amongst his fans. However, even if you accept this framing, it is possible to enjoy an artist’s work without agreeing with the artist's politics. This is especially the case with an artist like Young whose list of iconic or classic songs includes many non-political songs.
Young thinks he is hurting Jeff Bezos by pulling his music off Amazon. But he is really hurting his fans by denying them the ability to enjoy his music on one of the world’s most popular platforms. Young is also damaging the causes he sings about by limiting the audience for his songs. This limits his ability to play a role in the discourse surrounding the political issues that inspire much of his best work. Instead of removing his music, Young should be working to take full advantage of the platform Bezos offers him to keep on rockin' in the free world.
