‘Offer of peace and love’: Neil Young gives Greenlanders free year’s access to his music

Rock legend Neil Young performs during a rally against the destruction of old growth forests in Victoria on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Canadian-born singer-songwriter Neil Young says he is gifting a free year of access to his online music archive to anyone in Greenland as a show of support for the territory which has come under threat from U.S. President Donald Trump.

In “A message from Neil” posted to Young’s website on Tuesday, he said he’s honoured to provide “all of our friends in Greenland” with free access to the subscription-based archive, where all of Young’s music, videos and documentaries can be streamed in high-resolution audio.

“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,” wrote Young, a dual Canadian-American citizen.

“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.”

Young’s post comes amid ongoing rhetoric from Trump and officials in his administration about Greenland’s strategic importance and the need for the U.S. to control the island, a territory of Denmark.

Trump’s comments created a rift between the U.S. and many of its traditional allies that said they supported Greenland’s sovereignty, but tensions eased last week after Trump ruled out the use of military force to take the island and hinted at the possibility of a larger Arctic security deal.

Still, the situation has left many in Greenland on edge. In Young’s post, he urged other organizations to show similar signs of support to Greenlanders “in the spirit of our example.”

Young has been highly critical of Trump since returning to the White House roughly a year ago. In October, Young removed his music from Amazon’s streaming platform after the company’s CEO Jeff Bezos gave US$1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.

And earlier this month following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minnesota, Young criticized the government agency’s tactics.

“These ICE people do not operate like police,” he wrote on his website.

“They are thugs; poor ID, covered faces. Is Ice the new American thug police?”