Spotify Removes Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard AI Copycat

Photo Credit: Spotify

Spotify has finally removed a genAI King Gizzard clone on its platform after failing to catch the culprit — part of the platform’s broader move to address the spread of AI imposters bilking artists.

Despite making efforts to address the widespread presence of AI-generated audio on its platform, Spotify failed to catch an imitator of Aussie prog rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. The band have been vocal critics of Spotify, and along with several other artists, pulled their music from the platform over the summer.

Now, Spotify has addressed the issue to DMN after having removed the copycat.

King Gizzard announced the removal of its music in response to outgoing CEO Daniel Ek’s investments in an AI-focused military company. But a Spotify subscriber on Reddit soon reported receiving recommendations what appeared to be an AI-generated copy of one of the band’s most popular songs in Spotify’s Release Radar playlist.

The fake artist was called King Lizard Wizard, and its page contained an album full of tracks sharing titles with songs by the original band, using their original lyrics.

The profile and its music have since been taken down, while a Spotify rep provided the following statement on the matter to DMN:

“Spotify strictly prohibits any form of artist impersonation. The content in question was removed for violating our platform policies, and no royalties were paid out for any streams generated.”

Sadly, the fake profile and offending music went unnoticed by the company for weeks before King Gizzard fans on Reddit raised a stink. That sparked subsequent media coverage.

Moreover, the Reddit thread points out several other instances in which someone attempted to fool listeners with an AI-generated variation of a popular band or song.

In September, Spotify unveiled new tools designed to catch so-called AI “slop,” as well as policies disclosing AI use in the content it hosts. But how effective these changes will be in instances such as these — in which an artist removed their work from the platform only to be replaced by an AI-generating bad actor — remains to be seen.