Rock icon says he’s removing his catalog from Amazon (and possibly Whole Foods), urging fans to boycott big tech and “support your community.”
Neil Young announced this week that he will remove his music from Amazon and urged fans to join a broader boycott of the company and its Whole Foods brand, framing the move as part of a larger campaign to resist what he called a growing “Corporate Control Age.”
In a message posted to the Neil Young Archives website, the rock veteran instructed followers to “BUY LOCAL. BUY DIRECT,” and to “FORGET AMAZON AND WHOLE FOODS. FORGET FACEBOOK.”
He accused Amazon founder Jeff Bezos of supporting the government over ordinary citizens, and urged listeners to shift purchases away from major corporations and toward neighborhood businesses.
Young’s post warned that large companies “need you to buy from them” and argued that consumers must make sacrifices now “to save America from the Corporate Control Age it is entering.”
Young did not specify whether the pullback will apply only to Amazon’s streaming service or whether physical products sold through the retailer will also be removed. That ambiguity leaves open questions about how widely the withdrawal will affect fans’ ability to access his catalogue through Amazon’s various channels.
The decision continues a pattern of principled — and sometimes high-profile — confrontations between Young and major tech and streaming platforms.
In 2022 he famously demanded that his music be removed from Spotify in protest over misinformation tied to The Joe Rogan Experience; he later allowed his catalogue to return after Spotify altered the distribution of Rogan’s content. More recently, Young halted activity on his official Facebook page, citing concerns raised by reporting about Meta’s handling of AI chatbots.
Observers see Young’s latest stand as part of a long tradition of musicians using their platforms to shape how their work is distributed and to press for ethical or political change.
For decades, artists have leveraged catalog withdrawals, public statements and selective licensing as tools of protest — and Young, a persistent activist on issues from environmentalism to public health, is a familiar face in that lineage.
Industry analysts say the practical impact of Young’s move will depend on scope and timing. If his catalogue is fully removed from Amazon’s streaming and sales channels, there may be a measurable, if modest, loss of revenue from that outlet; however, his fan base and the broader streaming ecosystem offer many alternative ways to reach listeners.
The announcement’s bigger effect could be cultural: a renewed conversation about consumer habits, corporate influence in media, and artists’ power to shape distribution norms.
Whether Young’s call to “take America back” by buying local sparks a wider consumer shift or remains primarily a symbolic gesture will depend on how other artists and consumers respond.
For now, the announcement reaffirms Young’s long-standing willingness to link his music to his convictions, even when it means pulling his work from powerful platforms.
