After Neil Young, Joni Mitchell also brings her music back to Spotify. In January 2022, the Canadian singer-songwriter followed suit with the protest initiated by Neil Young. This came after certain episodes of Joe Rogan’s controversial podcast, exclusively available on the Swedish platform at the time, spread misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines. Neil Young expressed concerns that this misinformation could potentially lead to fatalities among those who believed it.
Consequently, the music of Neil Young disappeared from Spotify, remaining available only on other streaming services, and Joni Mitchell followed suit. Now that Spotify has not renewed its exclusive contract with “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which can now be listened to on any streaming platform, both artists have reversed their decision.
“Spotify, the world’s number one platform for low-quality audio music, offering less than what we produce, will once again host my music,” commented the Toronto rocker, who is set to release the new album “Fu##in’ Up” with Crazy Horse next month.
“The decision comes after Apple and Amazon began spreading the same disinformation that I opposed. I cannot abandon Apple and Amazon, as I did with Spotify, as my music would have significantly limited exposure to my fans. So, I’m returning to Spotify, hoping for improved audio quality, hoping that one day people can hear the music as I produced it.”
The controversial podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” is no longer exclusive to Spotify but is now available on competing platforms, Apple Music and Amazon. Therefore, if Young did not want to confine his music to a much smaller audience on high-resolution services like Tidal and Qobuz, he had no choice but to return to Spotify. Joni Mitchell followed his example once again, without issuing any statements accompanying the decision.
Now both discographies are fully available on Spotify: Neil Young’s on one page and Joni Mitchell’s on another.
Joni Mitchell, on the other hand, has just won a Grammy Award in the Best Folk Album category for her latest work, the live album “Joni Mitchell At Newport,” also delivering a performance on stage that received a standing ovation. Recently, the Canadian singer-songwriter also released an unreleased song recorded between late 1971 and early 1972, the year of “For The Roses,” at A&M Studios in Hollywood. Titled “Like Veils Said Lorraine,” it’s included in the box set “Joni Mitchell Archives, vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975),” set to release on October 6.
