'But I do think it's interesting that these legacy artists, like Neil and Joni, they came up in the '60s where they have a bit more of a foundational relationship with the idea of political activism.' 'I think Justin Bieber is the fourth biggest streaming artist on Spotify, so it's a huge market for him,' she said.

Spotify agreed to pull Young's music, and chief executive Daniel Ek said the company would also add content advisories to podcast episodes about the coronavirus, linking them to a fact-based COVID-19 hub. When asked why new hit-making Canadian artists like Justin Bieber or The Weeknd haven't joined the protest against Spotify, Outhit said she's not entirely sure. 'It's a lot harder if you are an emerging artist and your career could potentially be at risk,' said Outhit, now an equity and inclusion consultant based in New Glasgow, N.S. In January, Young sold 50 per cent of the publishing rights of his entire catalogue to Hipgnosis, reportedly for around $150 million. It's often easier for artists like Young and Mitchell to take a stand since their careers aren't in any danger, said former music industry executive Allison Outhit.

McCann said that before he pulled his music from Spotify, he had 82,000 subscribers, which earned him a total of $640 over a year. 'As an artist, it really seems really unfair when unless you have billions of streams, it doesn't translate into anything meaningful,' he said.

McCann said he pulled his music from Spotify because of how little money the service pays artists for their music. The boycott against Spotify started with Canadian legend Neil Young.

Spotify artist boycott