Jan 29, 2022 - Economy

Joni Mitchell to remove music from Spotify over vaccine misinformation

Erin Doherty

Joni Mitchell performing at "California Celebrates the Whales" at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California on November 20. 1976. — Joni Mitchell performs at California Celebrates the Whales at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, Calif., in November 1976. Photo: Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell said Friday that she will remove her music from Spotify "in solidarity with Neil Young" following a controversy over vaccine misinformation on the platform.

Driving the news: "I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives," Mitchell said in a statement posted to her website.

"I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue," she added.
Mitchell also cited a letter from this month written by scientists and medical experts who called on Spotify to implement a misinformation policy.

The big picture: The move comes after Young this week requested his songs be removed from Spotify due to vaccine misinformation being propagated on the platform.

Young in a statement on his website said he "could not continue to support Spotify's life threatening misinformation to the music loving public."
"I sincerely hope that other artists and record companies will move off the Spotify platform and stop supporting Spotify's deadly misinformation about COVID," Young said.
Young specifically called out Joe Rogan, a popular podcaster on the platform, for his role in spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.

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Joni Mitchell to remove music from Spotify over vaccine misinformation

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