Back then, there were a handful of major record labels, a few movie studios, three national TV networks, and only AM and FM radio. Our world of cultural plenty was simply unimaginable in 1966 when Neil Young cut his first album with Buffalo Springfield. Cancel culture is a real concern, but its impact is limited by the limitless nature of how easily stuff gets made and distributed these days. Young's call for Spotify to boot Rogan is risible, but his decision to pull his music is worth celebrating as an assertion of his right not to do business with an entity that offends him. 'And if you enjoy the podcast, thank you.' 'If I pissed you off, I'm sorry,' he said. Rogan also keeps rolling on, telling listeners via Instagram that the whole point of his show is to have interesting conversations and let people come to their own conclusions. Same goes for Joni Mitchell, who quickly followed suit. And his music remains widely available on YouTube, Apple Music, and his own website. Young almost immediately inked a deal with satellite radio provider SiriusXM to distribute his newest album and curate his back catalog. Spotify updated its rules about publishing content that 'promotes dangerous, false, or deceptive medical information' about COVID-19 and other diseases but has stood squarely by its marquee star, whose contract is worth a reported $100 million. Young said Rogan spreads dangerous misinformation about COVID. Young fired the first shots by telling the streaming service Spotify that they had to choose between keeping his music on its platform or continuing to host Rogan's podcast. In a profound way, it doesn't matter if somebody somewhere wants to block it because it'll be available a few clicks away, no matter what.

The scandal du jour reminds us that radical free speech is alive and well. And even if the world's most popular streaming service had dropped Joe Rogan, he'd still have all sorts of ways to reach his massive audience. Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify but you can still listen to his discography easily enough.

Who do you trust more about COVID? A legendary rock star or the world's most popular podcaster? The biggest takeaway from the latest culture war battle is that you get to decide.

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