Fontaines DC, Amyl & The Sniffers and over 400 other artists have joined the No Music For Genocide campaign while Massive Attack, who are involved in the campaign, have committed to fully boycott Spotify.
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The new campaign is a cultural boycott initiative encouraging artists and rights-holders to pull their music from streaming platforms in Israel in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Other artists, who are largely on independent labels, participating in the campaign include Rina Sawayama, MIKE, Primal Scream, Faye Webster, Kneecap and Japanese Breakfast. They are joined by the likes of Yaeji, King Krule, MJ Lenderman, Mannequin Pussy, Wednesday, Soccer Mommy and MØ.
To join the coalition, the artists involved have edited their own release territories or sent geo-block requests to their distributor or label. They are encouraging major label groups Sony, UMG, and Warner to follow suit, particularly as they blocked their entire catalogues from and closed operations in Russia a month into their invasion of Ukraine.
“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,” a statement from the coalition began. “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.
“Many of our peers have felt, like ourselves, unsure how to use music in this moment. Our first goal with No Music For Genocide is to inspire others to reclaim their agency and direct their influence toward a tangible act. We are so grateful for all of the artists, managers and labels who have already committed to this first step, and we’re excited to expand this together. The more of us there are, the stronger we will be. This is just the beginning.”
In its first post on its official Instagram account, the coalition said: “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. This is a decentralized, global volunteer movement with no institutional backer.
“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. 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. We don’t boycott to target individuals: this is a rejection of apartheid Israel’s cultural industry, which works hand in hand with global music and media institutions to whitewash apartheid and genocide.
“NO ART FOR APARTHEID, NO MUSIC FOR GENOCIDE.”
Meanwhile, Massive Attack have asked their label, UMG, to remove their music not just from all streaming platforms in Israel, but from Spotify entirely. This is related to reports that the streamer’s CEO Daniel Ek has made significant investments “in a company producing military munition drones and AI technology integrated into fighter aircraft”.
In a statement on Instagram, the band wrote: “In light of the (reported) significant investments by [Spotify’s] CEO in a company producing military munition drones & Al technology integrated into fighter aircraft, Massive Attack have made a separate request to our label that our music be removed from the Spotify streaming service in all territories.
“In our view, the historic precedent of effective artist action during apartheid South Africa and the apartheid, war crimes and genocide now being committed by the state of Israel renders the ‘No Music For Genocide’ campaign imperative. In the separate case of Spotify, the economic burden that has long been placed on artists is now compounded by a moral & ethical burden, whereby the hard-earned money of fans & the creative endeavours of musicians ultimately funds lethal, dystopian technologies.”
They also pointed out the parallels between No Music For Genocide and the recently announced Film Workers for Palestine campaign – in which over 4,000 film workers pledged not to work with Israeli film groups “implicated in genocide” – as well as past activist movements.
“In 1991 the scourge of apartheid violence fell from South Africa, aided from a distance by public boycotts, protests, & the withdrawal of work by artists, musicians and actors. Complicity with that state was considered unacceptable. In 2025 the same now applies to the genocidal state of Israel,” they wrote. “As of today, there’s a musician’s equivalent of the recently announced @filmworkers4palestine campaign (signed by 4,500 filmmakers, actors, industry workers & institutions) – it can be found @nomusicforgenocide & supports the wider asks of the growing @bds.movement. We’d appeal to all musicians to transfer their sadness, anger and artistic contributions into a coherent, reasonable & vital action to end the unspeakable hell being visited upon the Palestinians hour after hour.”
Massive Attack previously announced an alliance of musicians speaking out over Gaza against “intimidations from within” the music industry. They have boycotted performing in Israel since 1999, and in April issued a statement supporting Kneecap and urging the focus to remain on what they call a “genocide” against the Palestinian people after it was announced that the Irish trio were under investigation by counter-terrorism police in the UK.
Other artists who are boycotting Spotify include King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Xiu Xiu and Deerhoof.
Meanwhile, Massive Attack will be joining Kneecap on stage at Wembley Arena tonight (September 18).
