When Neil Young announced he was pulling his albums from Spotify (via Warner Records) this week, he called on his fellow artists to “move off the Spotify platform”.
One of Young’s friends and contemporaries, Joni Mitchell, has done just that.
Mitchell announced late yesterday (January 28) on her blog that she intended to remove “all my music” from Spotify.
Her reason? “Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives.”
Added Mitchell: “I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”
At the time of publishing (3am ET / 8am UK) a string of Mitchell’s classic albums are no longer available on Spotify.
They include Blue (1971), Clouds (1969), For The Roses (1972), Court And Spark (1974), and Both Sides Now (2000).
All of these records are distributed by Warner Music Group and its labels.
Mitchell’s Geffen/Universal discography – including Wild Things Run Fast (1982), Dog Eat Dog (1985) and Night Ride Home (1991) – currently remain on the Spotify platform.
Neil Young pulled his albums from Spotify due to his belief that the podcaster Joe Rogan has been spreading untruths about Covid vaccinations on the service.
Yesterday, MBW suggested that Young’s removal of his catalog from Spotify would act as a “test case” for other established artists thinking of taking the same action – whether for political, ethical, or economic reasons.
If those artists followed Young’s lead, we noted, it “could, crack by crack, cause an earthquake at the center of Spotify’s business”.
No less a legend than Joni Mitchell – who is being honored as MusiCares 2022 Person Of The Year during Grammy Week this year – just added another big crack.
Could more stars now follow?
Since removing his catalog from Spotify, Neil Young has expressed his displeasure over the sound fidelity of music on Daniel Ek‘s service.
Read: Neil Young’s Spotify Exodus Is A Test Case For Artists Who Dare Question Music Industry Dogma
Young wrote in an update on his own site yesterday that he “felt better” since leaving Spotify, claiming that the service offered a lack of audio quality compared to its rivals.
Added Young: “Amazon, Apple Music, and Qobuz deliver up to 100 percent of the music [quality] today and it sounds a lot better [than] the shitty degraded and neutered sound of Spotify.”
He continued: “[If] you support Spotify, you are destroying an art form.”Music Business Worldwide