Over 600 artists urge Live Nation to drop Israel subsidiary in open letter · News ⟋ RA
- Massive Attack, Kode9, Caribou and more have signed on to the statement from Musicians for Palestine.
- Over 600 artists have signed an open letter to Live Nation urging the company to cut ties with its Israel subsidiary.
The letter, published today by Musicians For Palestine, calls on the events company to drop Live Nation Israel from its roster and enact “policies to ensure its programming and partnerships are not complicit in oppression anywhere.” Signees include Massive Attack, Brian Eno, Kode9, Mia Koden, Nicolas Jaar, Midland, Caribou, Josey Rebelle, Kara-Lis Coverdale, Thurston Moore and Arabian Panther.
“We cannot stay silent while Live Nation Israel glorifies the genocidal Israeli military that has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza,” the statement reads. “We echo long-standing Palestinian calls for accountability over its years of artwashing of Israeli apartheid and now genocide.”
The letter arrives just over a week after The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) issued a similar call to Live Nation. On December 9th, PACBI directed the BDS movement and its supporters to pressure the events promoter “until it takes meaningful steps to account for its deep complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.” Live Nation Israel, established after Live Nation bought a majority stake in Israel’s Bluestone Entertainment, has promoted a number of high-profile concerts in Israel over the past decade.
Musicians for Palestine and PACBI’s pressure on Live Nation lands as the world’s largest live events company continues to face criticism over its business practices. The company is currently embroiled in a federal antitrust lawsuit over its subsidiary Ticketmaster’s mobile ticketing technology. In September, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and seven US states also sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster over alleged illegal ticket resale tactics, which the plaintiffs say cost consumers “billions of dollars.”
Read Musicians for Palestine’s full letter.
