Introduction

On July 25th, 2025, King Gizzard made the decision to remove their music from Spotify – the most popular streaming service of our time. Albums from some of the band’s side projects appear to have also disappeared, notably Heavy Moss’ discography. Their move is part of a larger wave of artists such as Deerhoof, Leah Senior, and Xiu Xiu boycotting the service, sparked by an over $600m investment by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek (via his venture capital firm Prima Materia) into the military defense company Helsing. The company uses AI to analyze data on the battlefield while also producing their own weapons such as military drones. Ek has funded the company since 2021, though this recent investment was the biggest contribution yet and made him chairman. While Ek’s involvement in Helsing is the main reason why artists like Gizzard have left, it could also be seen as the straw that broke the camel’s back. While all streaming services pay very little per stream, Spotify roughly gives $0.003 to $0.005 per stream, despite their size (that is, if you’re paid anything at all, an issue which has been a part of the Spotify discussion). Statements from the company’s own people have often been at odds with the artists. In 2024 Ek said that the cost to make music is “close to zero” while former executive Jim Anderson called artists fighting for better pay entitled in 2021. Spotify has also caught criticism for their continuous funding of podcaster Joe Rogan, who has spread hate and misinformation without any real consequence, despite coming into conflict with the service’s own guidelines. Spotify’s lack of tangible action regarding Rogan sparked a boycott from Neil Young, with other legendary musicians following in his footsteps.

Gizzard’s opposition to Spotify has been brewing for quite some time. When Rogan was catching fire for his COVID misinformation in early 2022, the band called him out while vocally supporting Neil Young. In regards to the band’s departure, Stu said this to the Los Angeles Times: “We’ve been saying ‘f— Spotify’ for years… I don’t consider myself an activist, but this feels like a decision staying true to ourselves. We saw other bands we admire leaving, and we realized we don’t want our music to be there right now. I don’t expect Daniel Ek to pay attention to us, though it would be cool if he did. We’ve made a lot of experimental moves in music and releasing records. People who listen to our music have been conditioned to have trust and faith to go on the ride together. I feel grateful to have that trust, and this feels like an experiment to me. Let’s just go away from Spotify and see what happens.” Lucas has also been vocal on the issue, sharing posts from BandsBoycottSpotify to his Instagram story.

There’s certainly a lot one could be concerned with, and with Gizzard moving platforms, you may want to ensure you still have their music available. That said, what are the options? Are other streaming services better? Are there non-streaming alternatives that are just as good, if not better? If you’re asking these questions, this guide is for you. While we do not want to endorse one platform or format over the other, this will run down the pros and cons of the alternatives, and how accessible Gizzard is with each format.

Streaming Platforms

If you can’t imagine your life without streaming but don’t want to use Spotify, the easiest answer is to switch services. To get a “bigger picture” view of the options, here’s a selection of streaming services with their monthly plan costs, the estimated per-stream revenue for the artist based on this article, and any controversies or additional relevant information. In regards to the stream totals, it’s important to note that streaming services use a pro-rata model where all revenue is put into a single total. From there Spotify takes their cut before distributing the rest down to the composers and distributors based on their percentage of streams. The payouts fluctuate due to numerous factors, such as the number of subscribers and artists’ own deals with their labels, so it is hard to get exact numbers when it comes to per-stream revenue.

Spotify: $11.99 per month ($5.99 for student, $16.99 for duo, $19.99 for family)
$0.003 to $0.005 per stream
See introduction

Amazon Music: $11.99 per month ($10.99 for Amazon Prime members)
$0.004 to $0.005 per stream
Amazon has numerous issues

Apple Music: $10.99 per month ($5.99 for student, $16.99 for family)
$0.007 to $0.01 per stream
Apple has numerous issues

Deezer: $11.99 per month ($15.99 for duo, $19.99 for family)
$0.0064 per stream

Qobuz: $10.83 per month ($4.99 for student, $14.99 for duo, $17.99 for family)
$0.043 per stream (their official number is $0.01873)
Specializes in high quality audio

Tidal: $10.99 per month ($5.49 for student, $16.99 for family)
$0.012 to $0.015 per stream

YouTube Premium: $13.99 per month ($7.99 for student, $22.99 for family)
$0.00069 per stream
Not purely music and includes other mediums like TV and movies
YouTube is owned by Google, which has had numerous issues (they have recently lifted multiple AI regulations, including one which prevents AI weapons).

There are some general cons with streaming, many of which are shared with Spotify. You don’t own anything, meaning that it could disappear for multiple reasons (rights agreements are a big one). It’s not like these companies are ethical bastions either, with a majority of these platforms not paying artists much. As mentioned above, multiple companies in this space also have their own controversies.
King Gizzard’s music is available on all of these platforms (sans Spotify of course). Bootlegger albums are also available via their bootleg gizzard accounts, though certain releases may be missing from platform to platform.

Digital Downloads

If you want to own the music you like while keeping it portable, digital downloads are probably your best bet. While you can buy the music via services like Apple Music, we’re going to give some alternative options.

Bandcamp is the go-to platform for digital downloads for a few reasons. While many major label artists aren’t on the platform, it’s home to tons of incredible indie groups and is a great way to support them relatively directly. While Bandcamp does take a cut of each album sale, the artist makes a lot more from the digital download than they do off streaming. In fact, Bandcamps hosts “Bandcamp Fridays”: an occasional event where all revenue generated by album sales goes directly to the artists. You can check when the next one will be here. Prices on the site are pretty cheap, with many artists implementing a “name your price” structure, letting you choose how much you want to pay for an album (you can pay nothing if you really want). You can preview full songs on the site but there is a limit, meaning you’d have to buy the record to continue playing it. When you do, however, Bandcamp becomes its own streaming service, allowing you to hear the music without downloading it. The platform isn’t without controversy (they went after their unionized workforce following their sale to Songtradr) but the platform remains popular for artists and fans alike.
Gizzard’s entire discography is available on the platform. The bootlegger releases can be found on the bootleg gizzard account similar to streaming. All bootlegs are set to “name your price” and can come with bonuses such as images taken at their shows.

HDtracks specializes in audiophile digital downloads. The price per download is more expensive than your standard purchase (single albums are around $17 each) but they’re high quality. Most King Gizzard albums from 2021 onward are available, but anything prior to that isn’t. Qobuz has a larger selection but still not everything.

Physical Media

Want to own the music but also interact with it? Read the liner notes, get a good look at the art, give it the time of day it deserves? Physical media is what you’re looking for.

CD is an enticing option if you’re looking to own the music you want, especially if you’re trying to build a digital library which you can keep on you at all times. You can rip the audio via programs like Apple Music, Windows Media Player, and MusicBee and send it straight to your phone’s music library. Beyond this, it’s easy to store/travel with while sounding great. Perhaps above all else, it’s cheap. External USB disc drives start around $15 while standalone players start at $20. You can find nice pieces for a stereo setup on the used market for good prices as well (example: I bought a Pioneer PD-102 for $50 years back and it has not failed me once). Used CDs are only a few dollars each with new CDs costing around $10 to $15 each (prices increasing with the amount of CDs included). I also suggest checking your local library as some do carry King Gizzard albums.
Speaking of Gizzard on CD, most of the discography is represented on the format but there are some glaring omissions. All albums from 2022 and 2023 were never made available on the format. That means no Omnium Gatherum, PetroDragonic Apocalypse, even Butterfly 3001. The band has previously expressed interest in making these albums available on CD but no official word has come as of now. The band’s bootleg releases are readily available, however. Being able to get your hands on Gizzard CDs depends. While bootleggers are easy to come by, official CDs have been hit or miss in my experience. It may be best to get them online if you have no luck at the record store.

Vinyl is a favorite for Gizzard fans, and for good reason. It sounds fantastic and has great packaging. It’s super rewarding, too. Gathering a collection and interacting with the format is special in a way other formats aren’t. However, it has some massive drawbacks, the main one being price. To start, you need a setup. You have to spend at least $100 on a decent beginner turntable, whether that’s new or used (do not trust suitcase turntables). From there you will (most likely) have to buy speakers and/or a receiver, adding even more money onto the overall cost. How about the vinyl itself? New vinyl sits around $20 to $25 per disc, with some costing more due to packaging as seen with Phantom Island. That’s not the only expense, however, as vinyl is something you have to maintain. You have to keep it clean, you have to make sure you don’t scratch it, you have to store it right so it doesn’t warp or so the sleeve doesn’t get damaged… and you’re doing all of this for a format that takes up a lot of space which you can’t travel with (unless you rip every vinyl record you own, which is a time consuming project you don't want to do). It’s a fun format to keep but it is a lot, especially if you prioritize convenience.
All King Gizzard albums are on vinyl, with nearly all records having multiple variants pressed. There are a few bonuses to the band’s pressings, one of the best being how they’ve prioritized eco-friendly techniques to lessen their footprint. Their new pressings come in a cardboard sleeve instead of shrink wrap, the vinyl itself is often produced with recycled wax which means the pressing plants are using everything they have instead of tossing the “undesireable” bits, and in the last few years they’ve cut down on the amount of color variants per release with Flight b741 and Phantom Island only being released on black vinyl. While pressings prior to 2021 didn’t feature such measures, ATO copies often featured digital download codes (some of these include the KEXP sessions, which have not been officially released in any capacity). The bootleg scene thrives on vinyl with each year bringing some truly special releases. While all of this is great, it may be hard to find certain releases due to them being in demand, and even if you do find a copy it may be expensive due to the rarity of the pressing. Speaking from experience, it took me a few years to get everything Gizzard released (besides bootlegs). I do not want to think about how much I’ve spent to do so.

Other Paths

These paths are further avenues to explore, but don’t really work as standard replacements.

The Internet Archive is a non-profit which hosts a massive database of books, videos, images, music, software, and more. One of its most impressive features is the Live Music Archive: a massive collection of live shows from bands like the Grateful Dead, Billy Strings, and King Gizzard. The collection is open so that developers can use the database for their own sites, as is the case with Relisten. If you’re looking for a Gizzard-specific site, however, check out our very own Gizz Tapes – which pairs shows hosted on the Internet Archive with our setlist notes. You can access it via the website or through its app on the Google Play store.
Side note: the Internet Archive is currently being threatened by multiple lawsuits, so if you appreciate their work, give a donation.

Freegal Music is a free streaming service which goes through select public libraries – meaning you can access its database if you have a library card. Their catalogue isn’t as big as others and King Gizzard isn’t currently on the platform (besides the Dorsal Fins remix they did), but if you’re looking for something unique streaming-wise, give it a look.

Jellyfin and Plex are two media systems which allow you to stream your own files. Jellyfin in particular is free and open source. The sticking point is that you would need to run your own server to do this, which is certainly an issue for anyone who isn’t great with tech. We won’t go into how to do that here but you can find multiple tutorials online.

Conclusion

At the end of the day there isn’t one answer that will satisfy everyone. There is no general consensus on “the best alternative” because it comes down to what you prioritize with your listening experience, your own stances on these issues, and your financial situation. While some may read this and find some new ambition to try something different, others might not have the means to right now, or may even find the entire thing useless. While it is ultimately your decision to make, it's always worth remembering that there are options.