King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Are Pulling Their Music From Spotify

The Australian band are the latest to pull its music from Spotify, following CEO Daniel Ek’s military investments.

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard announced this morning that they’ll be pulling their ginormous catalogue, featuring 27 studio albums and 56 live albums off of Spotify.

The announcement follows a post on the band’s Instagram promoting a new demo collection exclusive to Bandcamp. The caption of the post reads “f**k Spotify”.

Shortly after, the band would explain in an Instagram story that they would be removing their music from the platform. King Gizzard would share that this decision is due to the military investments made by Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek via his investment fund, Prima Materia. The band released a statement saying:

“Hello friends

A PSA to those unaware: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek invests millions in AI military drone technology

We just removed our music from the platform

Can we put pressure on these Dr. Evil tech bros to do better?

Join us on another platform“

Last month, Daniel Ek, the CEO of Spotify, announced a €600 million ($1.07 billion AUD) investment in an AI military start-up. Given that Spotify consistently says it cannot afford to pay artists more on its platform, this revelation upset and angered musicians and listeners alike.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are the third band in a month to publicly announce they’re leaving the platform in protest over Ek’s military funding. Both Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu issued statements in protest before embarking on a lengthy process to remove their material from the platform. Due to label deals and contractual complications, this process will be ongoing.

However, because King Gizard & The Lizard Wizard have always shared their music through their own labels Flightless, KGLW, and (P)Doom, the process should be seamless. The only material the band has put out through another label was their Satanic Slumber Party EP with Tropical Fuck Storm released via Joyful Noise.

However, in a press statement to Pitchfork, the label’s manager, Jake Saunders, explained that Joyful Noise will proceed as both bands would like. “If they ask us to take it down, we will,” he wrote via email. “We serve the artist, and it’s their right to decide what platforms to sell their music on.”

Saunders continued, “We are grateful for artists like King Gizz, Thor Harris, Xiu Xiu, Adam Harding/Dumb Numbers, and Deerhoof for putting their foot down. We are living among giants.”

He also wrote: “Labels and artists that are still developing their live show and don’t fit the algorithmic mold are essentially being held hostage by Spotify. No disrespect to King Gizz, but they are a successful touring band with the ability to take a stand. Their Spotify royalties are likely a drop in the bucket compared to what they can make on the road.”

“Joyful Noise has a healthy webstore and a Bernie Sanders–esque subscription model that allows us to release not-so-Spotify-friendly bands. Yet, for developing artists and labels, Spotify is held as a priority across several sectors of the industry. Our only hope is that Spotify becomes so uncool that people start to discover music elsewhere, hopefully on a platform that isn’t run by someone giving millions to the military industrial complex.”