Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell says she will remove her catalogue from Spotify in solidarity with fellow Canadian musical artist Neil Young's stance against COVID "misinformation" on the streaming service.
The nine-time Grammy award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee announced her decision to remove her music from Spotify in a statement posted to her official website.
Mitchell cited Young's stance as a motivating factor behind her decision, as well as a letter from 270 scientific and medical experts calling for Spotify to implement a misinformation policy in response to contentious claims aired by Dr Robert Malone on an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience.
"I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify," Mitchell's statement said.
As of Saturday afternoon, Mitchell's music was still available on the streaming platform in Australia.
Mitchell's announcement comes after Young's music was removed from Spotify in response to a letter the musician addressed to his manager and record label demanding the streaming service no longer carry his music because, he said, Rogan had spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.
"They can have Rogan or Young. Not both," Young wrote.
The only Young songs now available on Spotify appear on compilation albums, while full albums of his former bands — including Crazy Horse; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; and Buffalo Springfield — remain available to stream.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has praised the musician's stance in a tweet thanking him for "standing up against misinformation and inaccuracies around COVID-19 vaccination".
Rogan's podcast is exclusively aired on Spotify after the former actor and TV host signed a deal believed to be worth more than $US100 million in 2020.
