Singer Joni Mitchell said Friday that she is pulling her music from Spotify due to “lies” on the streaming service about Covid-19, just after music giant Neil Neil Young did the same a few days later.
In a post on her website, the “Rhubarb Taxi” singer said she supports Young, who clashed with Spotify over the wildly popular “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
“I've decided to delete all my music from Spotify,” Mitchell wrote.
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies and costing people their lives.
“I stand with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical community on this issue.”
Mitchell's website also contains a copy of an open letter to Spotify from medical staff and other scientists calling on the company to develop a misinformation policy to combat Rogan's repeated lies and conspiracy theories surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
Spotify had no immediate comment.
Young, the voice behind “Heart of Gold” and “Harvest Moon,” pulled his music from Spotify this week after telling the service it had to choose between him and Rogan.
He accused Spotify of “spreading false information about vaccines — potentially causing death” by releasing Rogan's podcast, which attracted millions of listeners.
“Spotify has become the home of life-threatening COVID misinformation,” he wrote. “Lies are sold for money.”
“I realize I can't continue to support SPOTIFY's life-threatening misinformation to the music-loving public.”
Young has over 6 million monthly listeners on popular streaming platforms. His fellow Canadian Mitchell currently has 3.7 million.
Rogan has a multi-year exclusive deal with Spotify, reportedly worth $100 million, and has a massive following.
Critics say his podcast is a platform for conspiracy theories and disinformation, especially on Covid-19.
Rogan discourages young people from getting vaccinated and advocates the off-label use of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin to treat the virus.
In a statement this week, Spotify said: “We want Spotify users to have access to all of the world's music and audio content.
“With this comes a significant responsibility to balance listener safety with creator freedom. We have detailed content policies in place, and we've removed more than 20,000 Covid-related podcast episodes since the pandemic began.”
“We regret Neil's decision to remove his music from Spotify,” the service said, “but hope to welcome him back soon.”