Joni Mitchell’s music has returned to Spotify more than two years after she left the streaming platform in solidarity with Neil Young’s protest over it hosting anti-vax content.
Mitchell made no comment about the return of her music, though the move comes a week after Young said he was putting his music back on Spotify after the platform ended its exclusivity deal with Joe Rogan’s podcast, which Young – along with 270 scientists and healthcare professionals – accused of spreading misinformation about Covid vaccines.
Since February, The Joe Rogan Experience podcast has become available on other platforms including Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Amazon Music.
Of his return to Spotify, Young wrote: “My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify. I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all, so I have returned to Spotify.”
The noted audio aficionado lamented the low-quality sound available on Spotify – “I hope all you millions of Spotify users enjoy my songs! They will now all be there for you except for the full sound we created” – and encouraged the service to introduce a high-definition tier in the vein of competitors Qobuz and Tidal.
For Mitchell, it is the latest move in a renewed phase of her career. In July 2022, she returned to live performance for the first time since she suffered an aneurysm in 2015. Last month, she performed at the Grammys for the first time; earlier this week, she covered I’m Still Standing with Brandi Carlile and Annie Lennox at the Gershwin prize concert in honour of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Mitchell herself won the Gershwin prize last year.
