Kneecap, Faye Webster & 400 Other Artists Remove Their Catalogs From Israel: ‘No Music for Genocide’

Hundreds of artists have yanked their music from streaming services in Israel to protest the ongoing violence against Palestinian people, including Kneecap, Faye Webster and Japanese Breakfast.

Aminé, Massive Attack, Soccer Mommy, Rina Sawayama, Fontaines D.C., MIKE, Primal Scream and Fontaines D.C. are also among the artists who have joined the movement, which is called “No Music for Genocide.” The initiative is accompanied by a new website, which features educational resources and shares the full list of more than 400 acts and record labels that have made their catalogs unavailable to play on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music in Israel.

“No Music For Genocide is a cultural boycott of Israel,” reads the project’s mission statement. “Over 400 initial artists and labels have geo-blocked and removed their music from that territory in response to Israel’s genocide in Gaza; ethnic cleansing of the Occupied West Bank; apartheid within Israel / ’48; political repression of Pro-Palestine efforts wherever we live; and the music industry’s own ties to weapons and crimes against humanity.”

“This tangible act is just one step toward honoring Palestinian demands to isolate and delegitimize Israel as it kills without consequence on the world stage,” it continues. “The successful cultural boycotts against apartheid South Africa prove that our creative work grants us agency and power. When we wield it together, we add unified pressure to a growing, global, interdependent movement, from Hollywood to the docks of Morocco.”

The movement comes just a few weeks before the two-year mark in Israel’s war against Hamas, which began after the deadly terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed in the violence — while countless others have lived in a continued state of hunger and homelessness — and a United Nations commission recently declared that Israel is guilty of genocide, which the country denies.

Though kicking off with more than 400 names on its list, the “No Music for Genocide” boycott still wants more artists who believe in the cause to follow suit and pull their catalogs from Israel as well. It marks just the latest music-related initiative to end the suffering in Gaza in recent weeks, following on the heels of the “Together for Palestine” benefit concert in London overseen by Brian Eno.

Information on how to join or support the boycott is also available on its website.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.