Both Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have allowed their music to return to Spotify, some two years after they pulled their entire catalogs in protest at COVID disinformation, and Apple Music trolled the service …

Background

Neil Young was the first to leave Spotify, in January 2022, over COVID-19 hoaxes given airtime by Joe Rogan in a podcast then exclusive to the streaming music service.

Neil Young posted a since-deleted letter to his management team and record label demanding that they remove his music from Spotify. “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them,” he wrote. “Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule.”

“I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” he continued. “They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both.” Young is referencing the steady stream of misinformation about vaccines that Joe Rogan has peddled on The Joe Rogan Experience. Last month, 270 doctors, physicians, and science educators signed an open letter asking Spotify to stop spreading Rogan’s baseless claims.

Apple Music responded by trolling Spotify, calling itself “the home of Neil Young” and promoting the artist’s work.

Joni Mitchell followed suit.

I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.

Both artists have now returned

Rogan’s podcast is no longer exclusive to Spotify, and Young said recently that he couldn’t boycott all platforms, so was now allowing his music back onto the streaming music service.

My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify.

Engadget reports that Joni Mitchell has also returned, noting one reason that vaccine disinformation was so important to both.

Iconic singer Joni Mitchell has put her music back on Spotify more than two years after she left the platform as a protest against it hosting misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines […]

Beyond the obvious reasons, Young and Mitchell had a personal stake in combating medical misinformation. Both musicians were victims of polio, a disease that was wiped out in North America thanks to vaccines.

Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash