Elisapie, BadBadNotGood, Jonathan Personne & More Join Campaign to Block Their Music Streaming in Israel: 'No Music For Genocide'

Artists and labels are geo-blocking their music from streaming in Israel, including many from Canada.

No Music For Genocide is a initiative asking artists, labels and rights-holders to pull their music from streaming platforms from Israel.

"No Music for Genocide is a new cultural boycott initiative asking artists and rights-holders to remove their music from streaming platforms in Israel in response to its genocide in Gaza; ethnic cleansing of the Occupied West Bank; apartheid within Israel; and political repression of Pro-Palestine efforts wherever we live," reads a post on Instagram.

Many Canadian talents like BadBadNotGood, Elisapie, Annie-Claude Deschênes, Jonathan Personne, Jonah Yano, Ought and Les Breastfeeders have added their names to the list. Montreal record labels Arbutus Records and Constellation Records have joined in, too.

Led by independent artists and labels, other participants include Aminé, Arca, Kelela, Oklou, King Krule, Amyl And The Sniffers, MJ Lenderman, Kneecap, Faye Webster, Japanese Breakfast, Fontaines D.C, Rina Sawayama, Kelsey Lu, Chanel Beads, Vegyn and more.

In effect, the artists edit their release territories or send geo-block requests to their distributor or label. The organization’s website provides details on how geo-blocking works and what steps artists can take.

The coalition includes major label artists like Massive Attack, Primal Scream and MØ. The group is urging major labels Sony, Universal Music Group and Warner to follow suit. In 2022, the labels blocked their entire artists' catalogues in Russia, a month after the country invaded Ukraine.

“This tangible act is just one step toward honouring Palestinian demands to isolate and delegitimize Israel as it kills without consequence on the world stage,” the coalition’s website statement reads. “This initiative is borderless and open to all artists and labels who want to boycott. We hope it leads to additional efforts against the music industry's complicity.”

Many artists have also been removing their music from Spotify in recent months following military investments made by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek through his investment fund Prima Materia. Since 2021, Prima Materia has been investing in Helsing, a defense company that sells AI software to inform military decisions.

Those include Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Chad VanGaalen, Sunnsetter, Sarah Harmer and many more.