Slammed because of their politics and COVID misinformation, Spotify is now having to battle claims that the audio quality of their music streaming platform is questionable, with leading artist Neil Young describing it as a purveyor of “more songs and less sound”.
Now, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell says she will remove her catalogue from Spotify in solidarity with fellow musical artist Neil Young’s stance against COVID “misinformation” on the streaming service.
Young says he “felt better” after pulling his music from Spotify late last week, claiming he’s strongly opposed to censorship and that “private companies have the right to choose what they profit from, just as I can choose not to have my music support a platform that disseminates harmful information.”
Young’s music was removed after he told Spotify to choose between streaming his music or Joe Rogan’s podcast.
Mitchell, a nine-time Grammy award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, announced her decision to remove her music from Spotify in a statement posted to her official website.
The move did not go unnoticed by Apple, who quickly announced they are offering Young’s “Heart of Gold” album.
After Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify in protest of controversial podcaster Joe Rogan “spreading fake information about vaccines,” Apple Music has boosted Young’s music in a not-so-subtle dig at its top streaming rival.
Over the weekend Apple Music’s homepage featured a playlist of Neil Young albums, with the title “We Love Neil.”
Apple’s streaming service also labelled itself the “the home of Neil Young” in a tweet they also sent out at least one push notification to users promoting Young’s latest album.
Rogan has an exclusive podcasting deal with Spotify reportedly valued at more than US$100 million.
In a statement, Spotify say, “We want all the world’s music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators. We have detailed content policies in place and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to Covid since the start of the pandemic.
“We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify,” the service added, “but hope to welcome him back soon.”
