Joni Mitchell returns to Spotify after Joe Rogan podcast boycott
Joni Mitchell‘s beloved music catalog has returned to Spotify, seemingly marking the end of the musician’s two-year feud with the streaming service.
Fans noticed the change on Thursday, March 21, when the singer’s music reappeared on the platform. “JONI MITCHELL MUSIC BACK ON SPOTIFY THIS IS NOT A DRILL,” one excited listener tweeted. Another X user joked: “Joni Mitchell is making more noise on TL this year than any pop star.”
Although all of Mitchell’s classic albums are now back on the platform, some of them are hidden in an unusual place. Albums released before 1980, including those from 1971 Blue and 1972 For the Rosesare located under the ‘compilations’ tab of a playlist titled ‘The Studio Albums 1968-1979’.
As of Thursday, Mitchell, 80, has not made a statement about why she changed her tune and competed again. The iconic singer originally announced that she would be pulling her songs from Spotify in January 2022.
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Her abrupt actions were a protest against the company’s continued distribution of the podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Mitchell accused at the time Joe Rogan of spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines on his podcast.
“I have decided to delete all my music from Spotify,” the nine-time Grammy winner wrote in one statement published on its website. “Irresponsible people spread lies that cost people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
Young, 78, left the platform shortly before Mitchell that same month. His decision to leave was also because of Rogan’s podcast.
After Young walked away, Spotify became co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek wrote one open letter apparently on the issue.
“We know we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing this with the safety of our users,” Ek’s statement said. “In that role, it is important to me that we do not adopt the position of content censor and at the same time ensure that there are rules and consequences for those who break them.”
Ek, 41, also revealed that a content advisory would be added to podcasts discussing the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Earlier this month, Young also changed his mind and, like Mitchell, put his tracks back on Spotify.
He responded to the news via his website. “Spotify, the #1 streamer of low-resolution music in the world – Spotify, where you get less quality than what we created, will now be the home of my music again,” he declared on March 12. “My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started offering the same disinformation podcast features that I opposed at SPOTIFY.
Young noted that he returned to the streaming service with “sincere hope that Spotify’s sound quality will improve and that people will be able to hear and feel all the music as we created it.”
He added: “I hope you, millions of Spotify users, enjoy my songs! They won’t all be there for you, except for the full sound we made.”