Joni Mitchell Music Is Back on Spotify, After She Joined Neil Young in Pulling Songs Over Joe Rogan’s COVID ‘Lies’

Without fanfare, Joni Mitchell’s music catalog is again on Spotify — a little over two years after she pulled her work from the streaming platform in solidarity with longtime friend and collaborator Neil Young in a protest over Joe Rogan’s podcast spreading COVID misinformation.

Mitchell didn’t announce her return to Spotify, but as of Friday it appeared that her original albums were again available including 1969’s “Clouds” with her original recording of “Both Sides Now.” Also back on Spotify are “Blue” (1971), “Court and Spark” (1974) and “Mingus” (1979), as noted by the New York Times. Reps for Mitchell and Spotify didn’t respond to requests for comment.

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The return of Mitchell’s music to Spotify come a week after Young announced that he was bringing his music back the service, saying that Apple and Amazon have “started serving the same disinformation” in podcasts that drove him to quit Spotify more than two years ago. Young didn’t explain what podcast “disinformation” Apple and Amazon are allegedly carrying; that may be a reference to Rogan’s $250 million multiyear deal renewal with Spotify inked last month, under which “The Joe Rogan Experience” will no longer be exclusively available on Spotify. Rogan’s podcast is now available on Apple Podcasts and YouTube and will be coming to Amazon Music, according to Spotify.

Young, in announcing two years ago he was yanking his music from Spotify, didn’t mention Rogan but said, “Spotify has recently become a very damaging force via its public misinformation and lies about COVID.” He referred to an open letter signed by more than 260 health professionals and academics who called on Spotify to implement an anti-misinformation policy, citing Rogan’s Dec. 31, 2021, episode in which his guest promoted an antivaccine rally.

In February 2022, Mitchell wrote in a note on her official website titled “I Stand With Neil Young!”: “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.”

Last month, Mitchell performed “Both Sides Now” at the 2024 Grammys — her first performance at the awards show. Prior to the telecast, she won her 10th Grammy, taking home the trophy for folk album for “Joni Mitchell at Newport [Live],” which was produced by Brandi Carlile.

At Mitchell’s behest, Spotify had removed her albums released through Warner Music Group — from the beginning of her career in the late 1960s up to 1982’s “Wild Things Run Fast,” then picking up again for two albums and a compilation spanning 1994-2000 — but her releases through Universal Music Group had remained available on the service.

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