Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell has said she will remove her music from Spotify following a controversy over vaccine misinformation on the streaming platform.
"Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing lives," the Canadian musician wrote in a statement posted to his website on Friday. "I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue."
Mitchell's move came after Young requested his managers and record label to immediately remove all of his songs from Spotify due to vaccine misinformation promoted by comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan.
In a now-deleted statement on its website, Rolling Stone reported that Young, 76, said the results were "potentially causing the death of people who believe this misinformation has been spread," he added, "They can have Rogan or Young. Not both."
Mitchell, known for her songs "Big Yellow Taxi" and "A Case of You," earlier this month wrote an open letter to Spotify requesting the implementation of a misinformation policy by a coalition of scientists and medical professionals. cited.
The letter was republished in full on the 78-year-old singer's website, and in it the authors outlined several concerns about Rogan's podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience", which is currently the most popular podcast in the US and UK on Spotify. Is. ,
CNN has contacted Spotify and Mitchell's record company Rhino for comment, but has yet to receive a response.
Rogan has "discouraged vaccination in young people and children, falsely claimed that mRNA vaccines are "gene therapy", promoted the off-label use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19. .. and spread several unproven conspiracy theories, said the author of the open letter.
He also noted that at least two recent guests "compare pandemic policies to the Holocaust" and that misinformation was "a sociological issue of catastrophic proportions and Spotify is responsible for allowing this activity to flourish on its platform." Is."
Spotify later agreed to remove Young's music from its platform, and the hashtag #DeleteSpotify went viral amid criticism of Rogan's podcast. Apple Music also tweeted on Thursday that it is now "the home of Neil Young."
Together with Young and Michelle, there are about 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Young has over 6 million, while Mitchell has 3.7 million listeners.