King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Invite Bandcamp Users to Set Their Own Price for Digital Catalog

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King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard onstage
Performing at Poble Espanyol in Barcelona, May.Maclay Heriot

Having withdrawn their music from Spotify, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are once more rewriting the rules by allowing listeners to download their complete discography on Bandcamp at a pay-what-you-want rate.

The endlessly creative Australian psychedelic rock collective has set every available album to “name your price,” echoing the bold approach Radiohead took with their 2007 release In Rainbows, which marked the band’s first independent distribution beyond EMI and empowered fans to choose their payment.

Known affectionately as King Gizz to their devoted followers, the band has applied this pay-what-you-like model across their entire catalogue, and fans have enthusiastically embraced the opportunity.

As of today, King Gizzard dominates Bandcamp’s digital album charts, holding all of the top 25 positions.

This generous move follows the band’s recent protest against Spotify, prompted by CEO Daniel Ek’s investment in military AI drone technology.

On an Instagram Story posted in late July, they declared: “A PSA for those unaware – Spotify CEO Daniel Ek is funding AI-driven military drones. We’ve removed our catalogue in response. Let’s urge these tech titans to act responsibly. Join us on a more ethical platform.”

And now, they’ve put action behind their words.

Far from conventional artists, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard boasts an ever-expanding discography that currently includes 27 studio albums, three EPs and six live recordings, with new releases arriving at dizzying speed.

In 2017, the Melbourne septet pledged—and delivered—five full-length albums in a single calendar year, a feat they replicated in 2022 with another quintet of releases.

Drawing on the precedent set by In Rainbows, studies by ComScore in 2007 revealed that 38% of consumers paid an average of $6 when given the freedom to choose, while the remainder opted to download for free, before the album’s traditional physical release became a commercial success.

Since its inception in 2008, Bandcamp has disbursed over $1.57 billion to artists, offering downloads in MP3, FLAC and other formats alongside unlimited streaming through its free app.

 

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