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King Gizzard Pulled Their Music From Spotify in Protest, and Now Spotify Is Hosting AI Knockoffs of Their Songs
https://futurism.com/future-society/king-gizzard-spotify-ai-knockoffAcclaimed Australian prog rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard joined a growing number of artists when it left Spotify in July.
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The track spotted by the Reddit user, called “Rattlesnake,” is listed under an artist with the incredibly similar name “King Lizard Wizard” — which is striking, because the real King Gizzard also has a song called “Rattlesnake.” The similarities don’t end there: the fake version of the song, which is clearly AI-generated, has identical lyrics to King Gizzard’s original version, along with a notably similar composition.
In fact, every song uploaded by the knockoff “King Lizard” artist on Spotify has the same title as an actual King Gizzard song, with its corresponding lyrics ripped straight from the source, suggesting the perpetrator fed the lyrics into an AI music generator and instructed it to copy the band’s sound. A quick search for “King Gizzard” on the platform brings up the band’s abandoned official profile, with “King Lizard Wizard” being recommended immediately below it.
The fact that Spotify has let the knockoff band proliferate on its platform — where it’s accumulated tens of thousands of streams since uploading the tracks last month — is especially egregious because King Gizzard has already been targeted by impersonators on its service. As Platfomer reported last month, Spotify was previously overrun by another King Gizzard impersonator that uploaded “muzak” versions of the band’s songs.
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The track spotted by the Reddit user, called “Rattlesnake,” is listed under an artist with the incredibly similar name “King Lizard Wizard” — which is striking, because the real King Gizzard also has a song called “Rattlesnake.” The similarities don’t end there: the fake version of the song, which is clearly AI-generated, has identical lyrics to King Gizzard’s original version, along with a notably similar composition.
In fact, every song uploaded by the knockoff “King Lizard” artist on Spotify has the same title as an actual King Gizzard song, with its corresponding lyrics ripped straight from the source, suggesting the perpetrator fed the lyrics into an AI music generator and instructed it to copy the band’s sound. A quick search for “King Gizzard” on the platform brings up the band’s abandoned official profile, with “King Lizard Wizard” being recommended immediately below it.
The fact that Spotify has let the knockoff band proliferate on its platform — where it’s accumulated tens of thousands of streams since uploading the tracks last month — is especially egregious because King Gizzard has already been targeted by impersonators on its service. As Platfomer reported last month, Spotify was previously overrun by another King Gizzard impersonator that uploaded “muzak” versions of the band’s songs.
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The article points out that Spotify had already allowed one impersonator of the Australian band to stream there: https://www.platformer.news/king-gizzard-spotify-impersonators/
From Platformer on Nov. 13:
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Over the next several days, most of the band’s catalog disappeared from the site. Visit the band’s artist page on Spotify today and you’ll find a single song — a remix the band did for another artist.
But for some of the band’s other tracks, a strange thing happened. Browsing playlists of King Gizzard’s songs, some fans noticed that several tracks were still available — sort of. Cue up “Deadstick,” a song off the band’s 2025 record Phantom Island, and what you hear is a kind of ringtone version of the original.
“Spotify presented this as being the real thing: i.e. same artist name, same song name, same video artwork,” Gizzard fan Scott Harvey told me. “And the music is similar. If I didn't know the song already, I may not have known this wasn't the original.”
“Deadstick” was not the only track to have been swapped out for its Muzak equivalent. The record’s title track, “Aerodynamic,” and “Grow Wings and Fly” were all also replaced by instrumentals. Until I asked, they remained playable on Phantom Island album page on Spotify, and collectively had more than 10 million streams.
-snip-
Over the next several days, most of the band’s catalog disappeared from the site. Visit the band’s artist page on Spotify today and you’ll find a single song — a remix the band did for another artist.
But for some of the band’s other tracks, a strange thing happened. Browsing playlists of King Gizzard’s songs, some fans noticed that several tracks were still available — sort of. Cue up “Deadstick,” a song off the band’s 2025 record Phantom Island, and what you hear is a kind of ringtone version of the original.
“Spotify presented this as being the real thing: i.e. same artist name, same song name, same video artwork,” Gizzard fan Scott Harvey told me. “And the music is similar. If I didn't know the song already, I may not have known this wasn't the original.”
“Deadstick” was not the only track to have been swapped out for its Muzak equivalent. The record’s title track, “Aerodynamic,” and “Grow Wings and Fly” were all also replaced by instrumentals. Until I asked, they remained playable on Phantom Island album page on Spotify, and collectively had more than 10 million streams.
-snip-
And if you're not familiar with their music, see Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Gizzard_%26_the_Lizard_Wizard - and here's an 18-minute single, The Dripping Tap, which Stereogum lists as one of their 10 best: https://stereogum.com/2202498/best-king-gizzard-songs/lists
The King Gizzard canon overflows with songs that warn of our planet's impending collapse, rage against the elites who got us to this point, and implore us to get off our apathetic asses to do something about it. But never before have they expressed those concerns as eloquently and passionately as on "The Dripping Tap," which opens with a pleading chorus hook from Ambrose Kenny-Smith that you could almost mistake for some down-on-my-knees '70s soul single (were it not for the lines about "suits in charge of the world" who have us "hanging by a thread" ). In the face of this impossible situation, King Gizzard let go of their frustration the only they know how: by kicking into a high-octane, hypno-rock blitz that surges skyward in a plume of smoke for the next 17 minutes, as if they were on a mission to beat the billionaires to Mars to make sure they don't fuck up that place, too.
And from.Guitar World: https://www.guitarworld.com/news/king-gizzard-omnium-gatherum-the-dripping-tap
Owing to its length, there’s a load of electric guitar goodness littered throughout The Dripping Tap, from the charging opening riff and high-octane lead lines that set the scene in the opening minutes, all the way to the frantic reprise that closes the track out in a destructive flurry of notes.
At its core, the track is a spellbinding jam, boasting a three-and-a-half-minute fretboard throwdown at the halfway mark, which throws together muddy fuzz-laden licks, wailing wah-drenched musings and punchy harmonized motifs.
At its core, the track is a spellbinding jam, boasting a three-and-a-half-minute fretboard throwdown at the halfway mark, which throws together muddy fuzz-laden licks, wailing wah-drenched musings and punchy harmonized motifs.
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