King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard launch a ton of music, however you received’t have the ability to hear it should you’re completely a Spotify listener. The prolific Australian rock band has pulled practically its whole catalog off the streaming platform with out a lot warning or fanfare.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard first signaled their departure by saying “fuck Spotify” whereas selling a new demo collection that’s unique to Bandcamp. They later defined, in an Instagram story, that they oppose navy investments made by Spotify co-founder and chief govt Daniel Ek’s funding fund Prima Materia. See their full assertion beneath.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s departure comes after Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu additionally signaled intent to go away Spotify, with each acts additionally citing their opposition to the Prima Materia investments.
When asserting their Spotify departures, Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu cautioned that it could take time to get their music off the platform, principally because of label offers and different contractual issues. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are usually not tasked with the identical points, nonetheless, as they’ve at all times shared music by means of their very own labels, Flightless, KGLW, and (P)Doom.
The solely undertaking King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have ever launched completely by means of an outdoor label is 2022’s Satanic Slumber Party, a collaborative EP with fellow Australian rockers Tropical Fuck Storm that was issued through Joyful Noise Recordings. As of publication, it’s the lone undertaking left on King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Spotify web page.
When reached by Pitchfork, Joyful Noise’s label supervisor, Jake Saunders, defined that the Satanic Slumber Party EP was a part of a take care of Tropical Fuck Storm, and the label will proceed nonetheless each bands would really like. “If they ask us to take it down, we will,” he wrote through electronic mail. “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 additionally 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.”
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