Joni Mitchell to pull music from Spotify over Joe Rogan COVID misinfo

Joni Mitchell said she’s pulling her music from Spotify following a similar move by Neil Young, while Barry Manilow said he is keeping his on the streaming service amid rumours he was also removing his songs.

Mitchell said she was standing by Young, who accused podcaster Joe Rogan of spreading vaccine misinformation on his show distributed by Spotify.

Singer songwriter Joni Mitchell.

Young removed his music from the service in protest, prompting the hashtag #spotifydeleted to trend on social media.

“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell, known for hits such as Blue and Big Yellow Taxi said on her website. “I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”

Meanwhile, Manilow refuted rumours on social media after Young’s move.

“I recently heard a rumour about me and Spotify,” he said Friday in an emailed statement.

“I don’t know where it started, but it didn’t start with me or anyone who represents me.”

Manilow’s comments also suggest Spotify isn’t seeing a wave of musicians joining Young in solidarity.

Rogan hosts the streaming platform’s most popular podcast, pulling in millions of listeners and downloads every month.

Manilow, known for hits such as Copacabana (At the Copa) and Mandy, has more than 2.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Mitchell has 3.7 million.

Bloomberg

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