Johnny Mitchell announced on Friday that he was removing his music from Spotify, joining forces with Neil Young in his protest against the streaming service in providing a platform for the Covit-19 vaccine misinformation.
Mitchell, esteemed singer-songwriter for songs such as “Big Yellow Taxi” and Its flagship album “Blue” celebrated its 50th anniversary, Posted Brief report He said on his website on Friday that he was removing his music from the streaming service. “Irresponsible people spread lies that ruin people’s lives,” he wrote. “I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical community on this issue.”
His statement adds fuel to a small but growing revolt on Spotify, with some great artists speaking out but fans commenting widely on social media. The debate has also brought relief questions about how much power artists use to control the distribution of their work, and the perpetual issue of freedom of speech online.
Spotify Young’s music slowed down on Wednesday, Two days later, he released an open letter calling for its removal in protest against “Joe Rogan Experience”, Spotify’s most popular podcast, which was criticized for spreading misinformation about the Corona virus and vaccines.
He did so after a panel of hundreds of scientists, professors and public health experts Spotify asked Dec. To take an episode of Rogan’s show from 31, in which Dr. Robert Malone, an epidemiologist. Scientists Wrote in a general letter The plan promotes “many lies about the Govt-19 vaccine.”
After a few days of speculation and rumors on social media, Mitchell was the first major artist to follow Young.
Young and Mitchell have a deep history. Both Canadians helped lead the singer-songwriter revolution in Southern California in the late 1960s and 1970s.
On Spotify, Mitchell is listed with 3.7 million monthly listeners, and his two songs – “Big Yellow Taxi” and “A Case of You” – receive over 100 million streams.
While some other great artists have spoken out so far, Young’s stance has been widely echoed among fans. Announcements announcing the cancellation of their subscriptions by listeners on Twitter, and Screenshots Spotify’s processor showed a message from its customer support team that it was “getting a lot of contacts, so may be slow to respond.” Spotify did not say how many customers canceled their subscriptions.
Technology rivals have also been embroiled in controversy over the relaunch of the Sirius XM Neil Young channel and Apple Music. Calls itself “Neil Young’s house.”
A Report On his website on Friday, Young reiterated his objections to Rogan’s podcast and swiped Spotify’s sound quality. He also said he supports freedom of expression.
“I support freedom of speech. I have never been in favor of censorship, ”it said. “Private companies have the right to choose whether they are profitable or not, and I can choose not to have my music support for a site that spreads harmful information.”