King Giizzard against Spotify: “Just money in military drones”

The Australian psychedelic band King Giizzard & The Lizard Wizard He announced the almost total removal of his musical catalog from Spotify (where they have over one and a half million monthly listeners), as a sign of protest against the investments of the CEO of the platform, Daniel Ek, in the war sector. The news, welcomed with a fan of fans and colleagues artists, is only the last episode of a growing wave of dissent against large streaming platforms. A wave that is coming, very warmly, also in Italy: Willie Peyote, recently, during a concert in Naples spoke of the matter. Here a piece on the international precedents and on some similar choices of Italian artists.

Meanwhile, the group has released its position through a clear and direct social post: “Daniel EK invests millions in the development of military drones based on artificial intelligence. We decided to remove all our music from Spotify. Can we pressing these tech-bro to Dr. Male? Join us on another platform. “The reference is to the investment fund First matter, founded by EK, who recently allocated over 600 million euros to the German company Helsingspecialized in high -tech defense solutions. Helsing collaborates with several European governments for the development of autonomous military systems. It is not over: the King Giizzard immediately relaunched a collection of demo on Bandcamp provocatively entitled “Out Everywhere Except Spotify (Fuck Spotify)“, Underlining their will to offer music” in more transparent and ethically sustainable environments “.

Their position is added to that of other groups of the alternative scene, including Deerhooof and xiu xiuwho started a process of exit from Spotify for similar reasons. These artists have long criticized the platform for very low compensation towards musicians and the lack of transparency in the management of revenues. If for years the debate has focused on royalty and sound quality, today Spotify is at the center of a much deeper ethical question: Can an entertainment platform be guided by an entrepreneur who invests in the production of intelligent weapons? The king gizzard, strengthened by their record independence and a faithful sequel, far from irrelevantthey are applying to become a pig of pig that opens the door on this delicate theme and with the most implications.