Joni Mitchell joins Neil Young in pulling music from Spotify over 'lies'

Joni Mitchell said Friday she is seeking to remove all of her music from Spotify in 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.

Mitchell, who like Young is a Canadian-born songwriter who rose to acclaim in the folk-rock scene in the late 1960s and 1970s, is the first prominent musician to join Young's effort.

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

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.

• Spotify to remove Neil Young's music after complaint over Joe Rogan

• Neil Young is boycotting Spotify, but his greatest hits are still available in Canada

But the service has said nothing about comedian Joe Rogan, whose podcast The Joe Rogan Experience is the centrepiece of the controversy. Last month Rogan interviewed on his podcast Dr. Robert Malone, an infectious disease specialist who has been banned from Twitter for spreading COVID misinformation.

Rogan is one of the streaming service's biggest stars, with a contract that could earn him more than $100 million US.

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