Joni Mitchell’s music is returning to Spotify
Two years after she removed her songs from the streaming platform, folk legend Joni Mitchell has followed in Neil Young’s footsteps and made her long-awaited return to Spotify.
In January 2022, Mitchell joined Young in removing her songs from the platform. The action was taken in protest against the misinformation about Covid-19 being spread on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, which was exclusively available on Spotify until recently.
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell wrote regarding her decision at the time, “I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
Bruce Springsteen’s guitarist, Nils Lofgren, joined the pair in removing his solo work from the platform, alongside Young’s Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young collaborators, Graham Nash, David Crosby and Steven Stills. Still, despite the huge names attached, the Spotify boycott failed to start any real movement among musicians.
After The Joe Rogan Experience‘s period of exclusivity with Spotify ended, Young announced his return to Spotify earlier this month. Writing about the decision on his website, he stated that Apple and Amazon had begun serving “the same disinformation podcast features I opposed at Spotify.” He opted to return to the latter because, otherwise, his work would have “very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all.”
Now, Mitchell’s music has also returned to the platform, and Spotify users can now enjoy Blue and Both Sides Now in their entirety. Mitchell is yet to share a statement about her decision.
As streaming of The Joe Rogan Experience expands beyond Spotify, it forces artists to reconsider the boycott of the specific streaming service. To continue the fight against misinformation spread by the podcast, they would have to remove their music from all streaming platforms, making it even harder for fans to find their output. Rather than taking this approach, both Young and Mitchell have opted to return to the platform.
At the time of the boycott, many artists couldn’t afford to remove their music from Spotify in solidarity. While Mitchell and Young both had well-established fan bases who would seek out their music regardless, smaller artists needed to retain their place on the platform as a way for new fans to discover them. The platform also provides musicians with a way to make money from their music, albeit a very small amount.
You can now listen to Joni Mitchell’s music on Spotify below.
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