Joni Mitchell Removes Her Songs from Spotify

Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell stated that she is seeking to remove all of her music from Spotify in protest over anti-vax content.

Mitchell stressed solidarity with Neil Young, who ignited a protest against the streaming service for airing a podcast that featured a figure who has spread misinformation about the coronavirus.

“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell said in a message posted on her website. “I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”

Mitchell's 1971 album Blue is regarded as one of the greatest of all time. The Canadian native's Spotify page said she had 3.7 million monthly listeners to her music. Her songs “Big Yellow Taxi” and “A Case of You” have both been streamed more than 100 million times on the service.

Following Young's action this week, Spotify said it had policies in place to remove misleading content from its platform and has removed more than 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

In a message on his website Friday, Young said that “when I left Spotify, I felt better.”

“Private companies have the right to choose what they profit from, just as I can choose not to have my music support a platform that disseminates harmful information,” he wrote. “I am happy and proud to stand in solidarity with the front-line health care workers who risk their lives every day to help others.”

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Spotify.