It didn't take long for Spotify to supplant King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard with AI clones

Months after the band left the platform, King Gizzard's subjects discovered AI-generated Lizard Wizard clones on Spotify.

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  December 9, 2025 | 7:21pm
(Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
Music News Spotify
It didn't take long for Spotify to supplant King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard with AI clones

Mere months after Australian psych-rockers King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard exited Spotify at full volume, the band’s fans who still linger on the platform claim the streamer is now serving up AI-generated clones of their King. Per Futurism, Redditor Dipper_Pines claims that Spotify recommended them the cleverly named knockoff “King Lizard Wizard” on their Release Radar playlist. As if anyone needed a clearer distillation of how little artists matter to that platform, the five-song EP by King Lizard Wizard features the same song titles as actual King Gizzard songs, including “Rattlesnake,” which has swindled more than 32,000 plays from the King Gizzard’s loyal subjects. With its low-effort AI album cover, some tracks even list band leader Stu Mackenzie as “composer” and “lyricist.” Spotify didn’t respond to Futurism‘s request for comment, but the “King Lizard” account “disappeared” after its story ran.

Sadly, it’s not just a Spotify problem. King Lizard Wizard’s music is also available on YouTube, which apparently has the same moderation standards as the Big Green. The King Lizard Wizard songs on YouTube also credit Mackenzie with the lyrics and composition.

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard left Spotify in July over Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s investments in “AI military drone technology.” One of Ek’s investment funds, Prima Materia, raised $600 million in funding for AI drone developer Helsing, of which Ek is also the chairman. Other artists, including Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu, also pulled their music, making similar accusations of war-profiteering against the company that’s supposed to give people cheap music. “Although the financial practices of all streaming services are acutely anti-musician, the actions of Spotify to use the profits they made from essentially stealing music in order to murder people to make even more money is almost beyond comprehension,” Xiu Xiu wrote in a statement. But never mind that, what’s Daniel Ek’s listening age?

 
Join the discussion...