Neil Young offers his music catalogue for free, for one year, to all citizens of Greenland in a righteous act of Peace
- Brad Gardner
- Jan 27
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 28
Neil Young has never shied away from using his music and his platform to wield his powers to affect change for the greater good. Weather it be the through the writing of "Ohio" with CSNY to his bridge school benefit concerts series and countless other examples over the years.
Mr Young has always said what he thinks needs at key moments in history and he says it loudly and proudly.
Inspiring so many fans and musicians over the years, after all he is the "Godfather of grunge". In 2012 he took on apple with his own music player and music store which was called pono which ultimately evolved into what we know of today as the Neil Young archives with the same fidelity of music just without the stand alone player.
Neil young fans know what a man of strength, protest and unity there is in his character. You have to even love the wry genius of his own music store being called "The greedy hand".
Neil Young has full control of his legacy as he sees fit while he is on this earth and that is a beautiful thing. As citizens of Greenland found out today, Neil Young really does Love Earth.
I'd be lying if I said that his agency over his own content didn't help inspire and greatly influence my choices for this very website.
Perhaps an unpopular opinion today at the start of 2026, but even now we can see the tides are shifting with the fairness of music services like bandcamp, which will hopefully contribute greatly to more artists getting their fair share for their work.
Neil Young's most recent act of generosity and brilliance was today directed toward the good citizens of Greenland.
He offered the following statement from his website:
"Im honored to give a free year's access to neilyoungarchives.com to all of our friends in Greenland. I hope my Music and Music Films will ease some of the unwarranted stress and threats you are experiencing from Our unpopular and hopefully temporary government.
It is my sincere wish for you to be able to enjoy all of my music in your beautiful Greenland home, in its highest quality. This is an offer of Peace and Love. All the music I have made during the last 62 years is yours to hear. You can renew for free as long as you are in Greenland. We do hope other organizations will follow in the spirit of our example."
Going back to his early history with Crosby Stills and Nash and Young with their famous demonstration song "Ohio".
Neil Young has always spoken out for the underdog and the disenfranchised. Although he is now an American citizen, he is to me, most certainly one of the great Rock and Roll ambassador's for Canada. And I for one, am always listening to what he has to say.
Do not forget he also made a personal endorsement for our current prime minister Mark Carney just before our last election 9 long months ago. And since that time, Mark Carney has stated how we in Canada also respect the peace and sovereignty of Greenland and Denmark : "On Arctic sovereignty, we stand firmly with Greenland and Denmark and fully support their unique right to determine Greenland's future.
Our commitment to Article 5 is unwavering."
In a world that changes so fast from issue to issue, it is my hope that today's actions are widely embraced by all musicians, artists and citizens of the world as we stand in solidarity with the people of Greenland.
Neil Young's most recent album Talkin to the Trees is the 49th studio album by Neil Young. It was released on June 13, 2025, through The Other Shoe Productions and Reprise Records.
Neil Young's tour bus, "The Silver Eagle"
Photos taken by me from Neil Young's Love Earth concert in Toronto, Monday May 20th 2024 at Budweiser Stage at Ontario Place.
Article written by Brad Gardner January 27th, 2026
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