Another wave just hit the industry’s fault line. IDLES, Lorde and MUNA have joined the ‘No Music For Genocide’ boycott, pledging to pull their catalogues from streaming in Israel via geoblocking, part of a growing artist led push to make culture count as a pressure point. The initiative launched in September 2025 and crossed 400 sign-ups within days, by early October organisers were listing 1,000 plus artists and labels.
The roster isn’t niche, alongside the latest additions, names like Massive Attack, Fontaines D.C., Amyl and The Sniffers, Paloma Faith, Obongjayar, Pinegrove, Marc Rebillet, Sir Chloe and labels including Hyperdub, have aligned with the campaign. That official roll call matters, it confirms who has actually moved beyond statements to request takedowns or edits to release territories.
The movement’s launch statement goes straight for the jugular: “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 normalisation of any company or nation that commits crimes against humanity.” The organisers frame it as one tactic in a broader web of actions, drawing parallels with past cultural boycotts and the post Ukraine industry response.
Momentum is building fast
Massive Attack spelled out their position bluntly: “In support of the No Music For Genocide initiative, Massive Attack have made a formal request to our record label (Universal Music Group) that our music be removed from all DSP streaming services in the territory of Israel.” They’ve also pushed a separate worldwide Spotify removal over ethics concerns.
Reality check, geoblocks don’t always update cleanly across platforms, especially when multiple rights-holders are involved. When Paramore’s music briefly reappeared in Israel after joining the boycott, Hayley Williams told fans her “team have been relentless in trying to help get it done,” highlighting the messy backend that can lag behind public intent.
Whether you see this as symbolic or structural, the signal is loud, more artists are choosing absence over silence. For a movement built on plays and profit, withholding both is the point, and the pressure.
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