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Joni Mitchell’s music has quietly returned to Spotify, more than two years after she followed Neil Young in protest of what she called “lies” about the spread of Covid-19 vaccines on the streaming platform.
There was no official announcement of Mitchell’s decision, but on Thursday fans on social media began to excitedly note the reappearance of some of his albums on Spotify. By Friday morning, most, if not all, of Mitchell’s original albums had returned, including classics like “Blue” (1971), “Court and Spark” (1974) and “Mingus” (1979).
Representatives for the singer-songwriter, her record labels and Spotify did not respond or comment when asked Thursday and Friday about the apparent return of Mitchell’s albums.
In January 2022, with a post on his website titled “I’m with Neil Young!”, Mitchell said he would remove all of his music from Spotify. Young did so after criticizing the service for his support of Joe Rogan, the podcast star whose show came under fire from doctors and public health officials who said some of Rogan’s guests promoted misinformation about Covid vaccines.
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell wrote.
Young returned his music to Spotify last week, saying: “My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have begun offering the same misinformation podcast features I had opposed on Spotify.” Rogan previously had an exclusive deal with Spotify, which has since been renewed, for $250 million, to allow distribution of his show on other platforms.
Mitchell, 80, has become more active in recent years after suffering an aneurysm in 2015 that initially left her unable to speak. She has performed several times, including at the Newport Folk Festival in 2022 and the Grammy Awards in February, and is scheduled to play two “Joni Jam” shows at the Hollywood Bowl in October, along with Brandi Carlile and others.