October 13, 2024

This is not a drill, Joni Mitchell fans! Her music is back on Spotify — and it’s (hopefully) here to stay.

On Thursday, fans noticed that Mitchell’s music reappeared on the streaming platform after boycotting it in 2022.

Mitchell, 80 — who announced she was taking her music off Spotify in January 2022 — has yet to address the return of her music on the platform.

Her decision to leave was an act of protest after Spotify continued to distribute The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, which was spreading misinformation about COVID-19. Her decision came just after Neil Young pulled his music.

“I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify,” the “Help Me” singer said in a statement at the time. “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,” she added.

Within her statement, Mitchell also linked to an open letter to Spotify, which was signed by doctors and medical professionals who said that Rogan’s podcast promoted “baseless conspiracy theories and has a concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Joni Mitchell performs during the 2024 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song presentation to Elton John and Bernie Taupin by the Library of Congress at DAR Constitution Hall on March 20, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Joni Mitchell in Washington DC on March 20, 2024.TAYLOR HILL/WIREIMAGE

Young announced his return to Spotify through a statement on his website earlier this month. In his message, the Godfather of Grunge explained that his decision comes as The Joe Rogan Experience is no longer exclusive to Spotify and available on Apple Music and Amazon Music.

“Spotify, the #1 streaming of low res music in the world — Spotify where you get less quality than we made, will now be home of my music again,” he began.

“My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I opposed at SPOTIFY,” he continued, referring to his stance against The Joe Rogan Experience and its dissemination of false information about COVID-19.

“I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did with Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all,” Young wrote. “So I have returned to Spotify, in sincere hopes that Spotify sound quality will improve and people will be able to hear and feel all the music as we made it.”

Source People.com

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