Joni Mitchell Leaving Spotify ‘In Solidarity With Neil Young’
Joni Mitchell is following Neil Young’s lead and pulling her music from Spotify due to the streaming company’s support for controversial podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.
“I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify,” the acclaimed singer-songwriter explained via a short note on her website. “Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
Young’s recent battle with Spotify has garnered headlines across the globe. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer decried the streaming platform for allowing programs such as Rogan’s to promote misinformation pertaining to COVID-19 vaccines.
“I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them,” Young wrote while demanding his music be removed from the platform. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
Spotify responded to Young’s ultimatum by granting his request and removing his catalog of music from their platform.
“We want all the world’s music and audio content to be available to Spotify users,” the company said via statement. “With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators. We have detailed content policies in place and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.”
Many fellow musicians have voiced their support for Young on the issue, including Sebastian Bach, Nils Lofgren and David Crosby.