Two years after several legendary musicians broke with Spotify in protest over controversial remarks made on podcaster Joe Rogan’s show, most have now returned to the music service — with Joni Mitchell as the latest example. As noted by The New York Times, several of the singer-songwriter’s most pivotal albums, including Blue, are once again available to stream on Spotify. Mitchell’s representatives haven’t offered any comment on her quiet comeback.
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell wrote in 2022 amid an uproar directed at Rogan for misinformation that was repeated on his podcast.
Neil Young, the musician who was most vocal in his criticism of comments on The Joe Rogan Experience related to the covid-19 vaccines, also restored his music to the leading subscription music service earlier this month. In 2022, Young said he felt “better” after ditching Spotify and blasted the service for its “shitty” sound quality. But the company hasn’t done much to enhance its audio since then, which is why Young continues to refer to it as “low res.”
His rationale for returning seems to be this: other music apps are also now streaming those same podcasts that he was originally so frustrated about — Young still refrains from mentioning Rogan by name — and he can’t in good conscience quit all of them and rob his fans of his catalog everywhere.
What’s now certain is that Joe Rogan isn’t leaving Spotify anytime soon; the two sides just renewed their deal last month, and Bloomberg’s Ashley Carman only yesterday illustrated Rogan’s grip over the podcast industry. The Joe Rogan Experience has a completely different level of popularity than any other podcast being made today — and it’s not close. Rogan’s program has 14.5 million followers on Spotify, with the second-place TED Talks Daily tallying 5 million.
So, the musicians had their say, and while Joe Rogan made it through the controversy relatively unfazed, I’m sure some people felt Mitchell’s absence. Blue is an all-timer of an album, and Spotify had to go without it for a couple years. It’s good for music lovers everywhere that it’s now back on the service.
