In a surprising turn of events, Johnny Mitchell has brought her music back to Spotify after more than two years of absence from the streaming platform. This move comes in solidarity with Neil Young’s protest against the spread of vaccine misinformation on the platform, a protest that he has now ended.
Mitchell’s music reappeared on Spotify just a week after Young announced his decision to return his music to the platform following the conclusion of its exclusive deal with Joe Rogan’s podcast. Young, along with 270 scientists and healthcare workers, had accused Rogan of spreading vaccine misinformation against Covid.
Since February, The Joe Rogan Experience podcast has become available on other platforms such as Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. Young explained his return to Spotify by stating, “My decision was made when Apple and Amazon music services started serving the same misinformation-promoting podcasts that I stood against on Spotify. I can’t just leave Apple and Amazon like I did Spotify because my music would have very little streaming outlet for music lovers, so I returned to Spotify.”
A well-known audiophile, Young expressed regret about the low sound quality available on Spotify, saying, “I hope all of you, millions of Spotify users, enjoy my songs! Now they will all be there for you, except for the full sound we created,” and called on the service to introduce a high-fidelity tier akin to competitors Qobuz and Tidal.
For Mitchell, this marks the latest step in the renewed stage of her career. In July 2022, she returned to live performance for the first time since her aneurysm in 2015. Last month, she performed at the Grammys for the first time; earlier this week, she sang “I’m Still Standing” with Brandi Carlile and Annie Lennox at the Gershwin Prize concert honoring Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Mitchell herself won the Gershwin Prize last year.
