Neil Young and Joni Mitchell returned to Spotify following their two-year hiatus from the music streaming giant.
Neil Young left Spotify in 2022 to protest the spread of misinformation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic through “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. Host Joe Rogan was accused of sharing propaganda regarding the coronavirus through his show which was exclusively on Spotify. Young left the multimillion user platform due to his disagreement with the statements made by Rogan as well as his criticism of the music quality provided by Spotify. Young condemned the platform for not taking action against the podcast as well as failing to provide its users with adequate listening standards.
Joni Mitchell, long time friend of Young, left the music streaming service that year as well to express her similar disagreement with Rogan’s views. Other artists who left Spotify in solidarity with Young include his former bandmates Graham Nash, David Crosby, and Stephen Stills. They remained solely on other music platforms such as Apple Music, Pandora, and Amazon Music up until this year.
Young and Mitchell both began returning their discography to Spotify over the past couple of weeks following their departure two years ago. With Spotify no longer being the exclusive streamer of Rogan’s podcast, the two artists made the decision to return instead of completely leaving the world of music streaming. Part of Young’s return is that he urges Spotify to provide listeners with advanced listening quality.
Young’s stance against COVID falsehoods also stems from his battle with Polio at the age of five in 1951. His fight against the deadly disease took place four years prior to the release of the Polio vaccine. Young is labeled as a firm believer in science and a consistent advocate for vaccinations.
At the height of the political music movement of the 1960’s, folk artists are credited for crafting some of the most influential songs relating to the social issues of the decade. Neil Young was a member of both Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and Buffalo Springfield, two folk rock groups noted for their songs regarding the Vietnam War. Despite his activism’s prominence 50 years ago, Young’s work as an activist is far from over.
