Timber companies in cameroon MJ Lenderman, King Krule, Arca, Massive Attack, MIKE, and Yaeji are among more than 400 artists and labels who have signed up to a campaign asking distributors to block their music from streaming in Israel. A statement from No Music for Genocide rallies more artists and labels to join the cultural embargo, in protest of “Israel’s genocide in Gaza; ethnic cleansing of the Occupied West Bank; apartheid within Israel,” and the repression of pro-Palestine activism, as well as the music industry’s own links to military tools. In a separate statement, Massive Attack announced they would remove their music from Spotify globally.
Other artists to sign up to No Music for Genocide include Fontaines D.C., Oklou, Wednesday, Kelela, Faye Webster, Japanese Breakfast, Rina Sawayama, Aminé, Erika de Casier, Kneecap, Primal Scream, Eartheater, Aja Monet, Maryam Saleh, Ana Tijoux, Annahstasia, Amyl and the Sniffers, Nadah El Shazly, Ben Howard, Fat Tony, Mannequin Pussy, Liv.e, Mø, Mechatok, Redveil, Horsegiirl, Chanel Beads, Nick León, Escho, Saul Williams, and Verraco. Bayonet, 10k, and Pan are among the labels joining the embargo.
According to the campaign, all three major labels pulled their catalogs from streaming services in Russia within a few months of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Those labels did close offices and suspend operations in Russia, and Spotify shut down in Russia altogether. But Russians could still stream the labels’ music on Apple Music, which remained in operation until more recently, and Russian streaming platforms. In late 2022, Sony Music Entertainment eventually withdrew its Western catalog from all streaming services in Russia.
A statement from No Music for Genocide reads, in part, “Culture can’t stop bombs on its own, but it can help reject political repression, shift public opinion toward justice, and refuse the art-washing and normalization of any company or nation that commits crimes against humanity. This initiative is one part of a worldwide movement to erode the support Israel needs to continue its genocide. We’re inspired by the escalating efforts in pursuit of that goal, from the recent Film Workers for Palestine pledge to Spain’s ban of Israel-bound ships and planes to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition to Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard to dockworkers in Morocco who’ve refused to load weapons onto vessels ordered by Tel Aviv.”