AI “King Lizard Wizard” Release Appears On Streaming Following KING GIZZARD’s Spotify Boycott

After taking a high-profile stand against Spotify this summer, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have now become the unintended subject of an AI-driven loophole. The Australian psych rock innovators removed their entire catalog from the platform in July, protesting Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s venture capital firm Prima Materia and its $693.6 million investment in Helsing — a company developing AI tech for military warfare applications.

At the time of the decision, the band shared a blunt statement with fans:

“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”

In a later conversation with the Los Angeles Times, vocalist/guitarist Stu Mackenzie said the move was less about activism and more about ethics:

“I don’t really consider myself an activist, and I don’t feel comfortable soapboxing. But this feels like a decision staying true to ourselves, and doing what we think is right for our music, having our music in places that we feel all right about.”

This protest happened alongside a broader wave of anti-Spotify sentiment. Numerous artists — including members of Holding Absence — have spoken out over ethical concerns, algorithmic behavior, and the platform’s embrace of AI-generated content.

Even smaller acts are pushing back: just last week, rising post-rock band Jagged City staged a mid-song protest within their Spotify uploads to raise awareness of the issue. And earlier this month, Sumerian Records founder Ash Avildsen publicly condemned big tech and labels for enabling AI music to compete against the real artists those systems are trained on. He hinted that a new platform solution could arrive as early as January.

But while artists are working to remove their music from environments they no longer align with… someone else is working to replace them. On November 14th, a self-titled EP by a blatant imitator called King Lizard Wizard appeared on Spotify — and is still up as of press time. Its five tracks sound like simplified recreations of King Gizzard songs, with songwriting credits still bizarrely listing Mackenzie.

Whether it’s a fan, a troll, a bot-farming opportunist, or an exploit of Spotify’s automated systems, the project has racked up 29,303 monthly listeners so far — a fraction of the 1.1 million the real band had before they pulled the plug. King Gizzard’s official monthly listener count has since shrunk to 56,763, held aloft only by a lone guest feature that remains licensed on the platform.

For those unwilling to abandon Spotify, curiosity may be leading them straight into the AI clone’s arms.

The fake EP isn’t isolated to Spotify either — it’s also available on other major DSPs such as Tidal. Meanwhile, King Gizzard have encouraged fans to pivot with them to ecosystems they consider ethically aligned, offering their full catalog via name-your-price on Bandcamp since the day of their departure.

As AI continues to reshape music distribution, King Gizzard’s protest may soon become a bellwether moment… with an unwanted doppelgänger serving as a cautionary footnote.

AI Band “King Lizard Wizard”

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