The status of Neil Young’s great high-end sound experiment, Pono, appears to be in questions as the site goes to “under construction” and his music goes back into the wild.
Young first announced the Pono Player, which concentrated on a new format that boosted the fidelity greatly over standard MP3 files, during SXSW in 2014, launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund production that went on to become the third biggest in Kickstarter history as of that time. The player was launched in January 2015.
Then, in mid-July 2015, Young pulled all of his music from Spotify and other on-line streaming services. While there was no official reason given, there was speculation that it was done to boost sales of both Young’s music and the Pono service.
Once again, with the combo of Young returning to streaming and the Pono site going to “under construction” status, speculation is starting to run rampant that Pono may be on its way out; however, there is a detailed FAQ on the site saying that they are only moving to “a new partner” and that the store will be back soon. It also states that the Pono Player is still available.
Meanwhile, Spotify now includes most of Young’s catalog again, including:
Neil Young
After the Goldrush
Harvest
On the Beach
Tonight’s the Night
American Stars N’ Bars
Comes a Time
Hawks & Doves
Trans
Everybody’s Rockin’
Old Ways
Life
This Note’s For You
Freedom
Harvest Moon
Unplugged
Mirror Ball
Dead Man
Silver & Gold
Road Rock, Vol. 1
Are You Passionate?
Prairie Wind
Living With War
Live at Massey Hall 1971
Chrome Dreams II
Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House 1968
Fork in the Road
Dreamin’ Man Live ’92
Le Noise
Live at the Cellar Door
A Letter Home
Storytone
The Monsanto Years
Bluenote Cafe
Earth
Peace Trail
Neil Young Archives, Vol. 1 (1963 – 1972)
Greatest Hits
Lucky 13
Decade
Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
Rust Never Sleeps
Live Rust
Re-ac-tor
Ragged Glory
Sleeps With Angels
Broken Arrow
Year of the Horse
Greendale
Live at the Fillmore East
Americana
Psychedelic Pill
