Los Angeles, Jan 29 (UNI): Singer Joni Mitchell said she was pulling her music from Spotify over Covid misinformation, days after Neil Young quit in protest over the same reason.
In a post on her official website, Mitchell said: “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. 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. —Joni Mitchell.”
She also gave the link to an open letter to Spotify: A call from the global scientific and medical communities to implement a misinformation policy. The letter was signed by dozens of medical and scientific professionals in mid-January.
It urges Spotify to establish a misinformation policy to address the “misleading and false claims” propagated by the Joe Rogan Experience, such as Rogan’s suggestion that healthy young people should not get vaccinated against Covid-19.
Earlier this week, Young gave Spotify an ultimatum: keep his music or Rogan’s podcast. Spotify ended up favoring Rogan, and in line with Young’s wishes, the platform pulled all of his music. Young later said he “felt better” after getting his music removed, and then criticized Spotify for failing to offer lossless audio, an option that both Amazon and Apple Music provide.
Apple has been using Young’s departure from Spotify as an opportunity to take numerous digs at its competitor, going so far as to label Apple Music as “the home of Neil Young,” the Verge said.
In 2020, Spotify made the Joe Rogan Experience exclusive to the platform, and it has since come under fire for Rogan’s potentially misleading comments about Covid-19 and its vaccines. It appears Spotify’s content policies prevent the platform from doing anything about Rogan’s podcast.
