Joni Mitchell says she will follow Neil Young in removing his music from Spotify over vaccine misinformation – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports
(CNN) – Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell has said she will remove her music from Spotify, following a controversy over vaccine misinformation hosted on the streaming platform.
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people’s lives,” the Canadian musician wrote in a statement posted Friday on her website. “I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
Mitchell’s decision comes after Young asked his managers and record company to order the immediate removal of all his songs from Spotify, due to vaccine misinformation spread by comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan.
In a now-deleted statement on its website, Rolling Stone reported that Young, 76, said the consequences “potentially cause the death of those who believe this misinformation is spreading,” adding, “They may have Rogan or Young . Not both.”
Mitchell, known for her songs “Big Yellow Taxi” and “A Case of You,” also cited an open letter to Spotify published earlier this month by a coalition of scientists and medical professionals calling for implementation. of an anti-disinformation policy.
The letter was reposted in its entirety on the 78-year-old singer’s website, and the authors in it highlighted a number of concerns about Rogan’s podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which is currently the most popular podcast in the world. US and UK on Spotify. .
CNN has contacted Rhino, the record label of Spotify and Mitchell, but has yet to hear back.
Rogan has “discouraged vaccination of young people and children, falsely asserted that mRNA vaccines are ‘gene therapy’, promoted the off-label use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19…and spread a certain number of unsubstantiated conspiracy theories,” the authors of the open letter said.
They also said that at least two recent guests had “compared pandemic politics to the Holocaust” and said misinformation was “a sociological problem of devastating proportions and that Spotify is responsible for allowing this activity to thrive on its platform”.
Spotify then agreed to remove Young’s music from its platform, and the #DeleteSpotify hashtag went viral amid criticism from Rogan’s podcast. Apple Music too tweeted Thursday that it was now “Neil Young’s house”.
Young and Mitchell together have nearly 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with Young having over 6 million, while Mitchell has 3.7 million listeners.
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