Joni Mitchell returns to Spotify two years after boycott over Joe Rogan’s COVID-19 ‘lies’
Alexandra Del Rosario March 25, 2024 Joni Mitchell
can look at Spotify from both sides now: before
,
and after her 2022 boycott.
The prolific “
Both Sides Now
” singer,
80
, reinstated her catalog to the music giant before the weekend, ending her two-year protest over the streamer’s platforming of “
The Joe Rogan Experience
” podcast and its COVID-19 “misinformation.” She follows rocker Neil Young , who returned his music to Spotify earlier this month.
Scores of fans noticed the Grammy
–
winner’s Spotify comeback last week and celebrated with a range of reaction GIFs and all-caps tweets on X (formerly Twitter
.
)
.
“Suddenly I’m healed and life is actually worth living,” one fan wrote
on
Neil Young returns his music to Spotify, ‘except for the full sound we created’
“Nature has officially healed,” another X user tweeted.
another X user.
Despite the internet fanfare, Mitchell’s return to Spotify was quiet, with neither her Instagram nor Twitter accounts announcing the comeback. Young unveiled his decision to return to Spotify in a missive shared to his website.
Representatives for Spotify and Mitchell did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment
on
Monday.
In January 2022
on her website
, Mitchell proclaimed
,on her website,
“I Stand With Neil Young,” who had withdrawn his catalog from Spotify. Both of the musicians criticized the platform for streaming Rogan’s eponymous podcast, in which he has questioned COVID-19 safety protocols and vaccines
,
and touted coronavirus treatments that have not been approved by medical professionals. Mitchell and Young voiced support for scores of medical experts who penned
an
open letter to Spotify accusing Rogan of sharing “baseless conspiracy theories” about the
COVID-19
pandemic.
Joni Mitchell removes her music from Spotify, joining Neil Young in protest
“Ive decided to remove all my music from Spotify,
“
Mitchell said in post shared to her website on Jan. 28, 2022. “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.”
While
Mitchell and Young briefly left the platform,
but
Rogan and his podcast remained. The streaming giant continues to publish “Joe Rogan Experience” episodes. Additionally, with a new deal signed in February, it seems he isn’t parting ways with Spotify anytime soon.
Since her Spotify protest
began
, Mitchell
has
returned to the stage, picked up an honorary doctorate from
the
Berklee College of Music and achieved double-digit Grammy Award status, winning her
tenth
10th prize in February.
Joni Mitchell makes a triumphant return to stage at the Gorge, with help from famous admirers
Mitchell
returned returns
to Spotify amid the 56th anniversary of her debut album, “Song to a Seagull,” which led the singer to a “a lifetime of poetic and soul-stirring melodies,”
according to
her Instagram.
said.
In January, Mitchell announced she
thatwill would take overtakeover
the Hollywood Bowl for two nights
this fall,on
Oct. 19 and 20.
