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King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard<\/a> release a ton of music, but you won\u2019t be able to hear it if you\u2019re exclusively a Spotify<\/a> listener. The prolific Australian rock band has pulled nearly its entire catalog off the streaming platform without much warning or fanfare.<\/p>\n King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard first signaled their departure by saying<\/a> \u201cfuck Spotify\u201d while promoting a new demo collection<\/a> that\u2019s exclusive to Bandcamp. They later explained, in an Instagram story, that they oppose military investments made by Spotify co-founder and chief executive Daniel Ek\u2019s investment fund Prima Materia<\/a>. See their full statement below.<\/p>\n King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard\u2019s departure comes after Deerhoof<\/a> and Xiu Xiu<\/a> also signaled intent to leave Spotify, with both acts also citing their opposition to the Prima Materia investments.<\/p>\n When announcing their Spotify departures, Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu cautioned that it would take time to get their music off the platform, mostly due to label deals and other contractual complications. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are not tasked with the same issues, however, as they\u2019ve always shared music through their own labels, Flightless<\/a>, KGLW<\/a>, and (P)Doom<\/a>.<\/p>\n The only project King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have ever released exclusively through an outside label is 2022\u2019s Satanic Slumber Party<\/em><\/a>, a collaborative EP with fellow Australian rockers Tropical Fuck Storm<\/a> that was issued via Joyful Noise Recordings<\/a>. As of publication, it\u2019s the lone project left on King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard\u2019s Spotify page.<\/p>\n When reached by Pitchfork, Joyful Noise\u2019s label manager, Jake Saunders, explained that the Satanic Slumber Party<\/em> EP was part of a deal with Tropical Fuck Storm, and the label will proceed however both bands would like. \u201cIf they ask us to take it down, we will,\u201d he wrote via email. \u201cWe serve the artist, and it\u2019s their right to decide what platforms to sell their music on.\u201d<\/p>\n Saunders continued,\u00a0\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n He also wrote: \u201cLabels and artists that are still developing their live show and don\u2019t 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\u2013esque 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\u2019t run by someone giving millions to the military industrial complex.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n