An AI imitator of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard slipped past Spotify’s defenses for several weeks, going largely unnoticed. Even as the platform has taken steps to curb AI-generated audio, this clone managed to mimic the Australia-based experimental rock band, known for openly criticizing Spotify and even removing their music from the service in the summer as a protest. The move followed news that outgoing CEO Daniel Ek was a significant investor in an AI-focused weapons and military company, amplifying the controversy surrounding the platform. Recently, a Reddit post surfaced showing what appeared to be an AI-produced track by the band within Spotify’s Release Radar playlist. The counterfeit artist dubbed itself King Lizard Wizard and released an album whose track titles mirrored those of the real band, using their actual lyrics. Futurism captured screenshots of the imposter, though it seems the entry has since been removed, leaving only the authentic King Gizzard page searchable under both names.
Importantly, the fake King Gizzard album went unnoticed by Spotify for weeks until the social post brought it to light. The Reddit thread also highlights other attempts to fool listeners with AI-generated variants of popular groups. In September, Spotify announced the introduction of a spam filter aimed at catching AI-generated nonsense, along with guidelines requiring disclosure of AI involvement in hosted content and measures to address impersonations. An instance like this, particularly involving a band that previously left the platform in protest, raises serious questions about how effectively those policies are being enforced and whether more robust safeguards are necessary.
