Lankum write letter asking Latitude to drop Barclays as a sponsor amidst boycott

SXSW have announced that they have dropped the US Army and defense contractor RTX Corporation as sponsors for the 2025 edition of the festival.This year’s SXSW was overshadowed by decisions related to the festival’s sponsorship. Many artists refused to play at the Festival in Austin, Texas in March because of the event’s connections to the US Army and weapons companies amid the Israel-Gaza conflict. These included Gruff Rhys, Kneecap, Sprints, Lambrini Girls, Gel, Rachel Chinouriri, Cardinals and NewDad.SXSW responded to the cancellations in a statement: “We are an organisation that welcomes diverse viewpoints.

Selome Hailu South by Southwest will not receive sponsorship from the U.S. Army for its 2025 festival, a decision made after multiple pro-Palestinian protests and boycotts earlier this year. “After careful consideration, we are revising our sponsorship model,” reads a statement on the SXSW website.

Prominent arts and tech festival SXSW has dropped the U.S. Army as a sponsor, organizers have announced via the fest’s website.

BBC boss Tim Davie hosts regular talent events to charm the people who populate his airwaves, but it’s not often that talk turns to geopolitics. That changed in January when a list of stars, including Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay, gathered and the conversation crackled with a sound that has now become familiar to Davie: unease over Israel-Gaza coverage.

Surrendering to pressure from several music acts and an ad-hoc movement, Barclays has suspended its sponsorship of all 2024 music festivals organized by Live Nation in the UK.

Barclays bank customers are being encouraged to switch their accounts following a series of protests by pro-Palestine group, Palestine Action.

Barclays on Friday suspended its sponsorship of all Live Nation music festivals in 2024 after various acts dropped out in protest over the bank’s links to defense companies that work with Israel.The suspension includes upcoming Live Nation festivals across the UK this summer, including Latitude, Download and the Isle of Wight.“The protesters’ agenda is to have Barclays debank defense companies which is a sector we remain committed to as an essential part of keeping this country and our allies safe,” the bank’s spokesperson told Reuters.The suspension comes after several artists, including country singer CMAT, metal band Ithaca and comedian Joanne McNally, pulled out of the events.Last month, Barclay’s annual shareholders’ meeting was disrupted by activists protesting against its alleged indirect links to violence in Gaza.

Ilana Kaplan Whenever the Decemberists have released an album, Colin Meloy has wondered if it would be their last. Perhaps fans may have felt similarly after the release of their 2018 LP “I’ll Be Your Girl,” as the Portland, Oregon-spawned indie icons found themselves in the midst of its longest gap between records. But there were several factors at play in the delay: a pandemic, fits and starts of songwriting, and Meloy’s other creative projects.

Enter Shikari have spoken out after Barclays Bank withdrew from sponsoring Download, Latitude and Isle Of Wight festivals following an artist boycott.A number of bands had dropped out of the Donington Park festival in protest at their commercial partnership with Barclays, including Pest Control, Scowl, Speed and Zulu.Pest Control wrote that they “would not take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide”, while Scowl added they were boycotting due to “Barclays Bank sponsorship of the event and Barclays’ connection to Israel and the genocide Israel is committing in Palestine.”And now, it appears that Barclays have withdrawn their sponsorship of Download, Latitude and Isle of Wight Festivals, with the bank no longer being listed on their official websites.In a response shared with NME, Latitude confirmed the news, saying: “Following discussion with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of Latitude Festival.”NME have also contacted Download Festival for comment.Enter Shikari, who are set to play the main stage at Download this weekend, have responded to the news with a lengthy social media post, which read: “There has been mounting pressure for bands to drop out of Download festival due to the involvement of Barclays Bank.”A post shared by enter: shikari (@entershikari)“We have been in talks with Download themselves, expressing our serious objection at Barclays involvement. We have considered all options, and along with other artists have been working tirelessly on this.”“We don’t believe in rushed reactions and always want the best outcome for all involved.

EXCLUSIVE: Mike Gauyo (Insecure, Ginny & Georgia, Send Help) and screenwriter talent-discovery platform Coverfly has partnered with the Black Boy Writes Media banner for the fourth year of the Black Boy Writes & Black Girl Writes Mentorship Initiative. The initiative, which launched at the start of 2021, is dedicated to supplying industry access and resources to pre-WGA Black screenwriters. 

Siddhant Adlakha “The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer” marks the English-language debut of Turkish director Tolga Karaçelik. Its initial premise, about an unhappily married couple, morphs and flips on its head until it transforms into something resembling the movie’s title, though it’s only about “a writer writing about a serial killer” in the most nominal sense.

System Of A Down‘s Serj Tankian has weighed in on the current situation in Palestine and the movement to boycott companies with ties to Israel.Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 in response to its occupation of Palestinian territories, killing 1,189 people. Israel’s ongoing operations in the interim have killed 37,702 Palestinians [via Al Jazeera].Recently, record labels, promoters and more have called for a cultural boycott of Israel through the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), an offshoot of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) which was behind the huge wave of drop-outs from The Great Escape, Latitude Festival and Download Festival this year.In an interview with NME about his new autobiography Down With The System, Tankian has given his take on current world events and the ongoing boycotts.

Download 2024 yesterday (June 10) over its partnership with Barclays Bank – which has ties to Israel – have announced a show together in Birmingham to raise money for Palestine.Pest Control were the first band to pull out of the Donington Park festival, saying that they would not “take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide.” Later on, Scowl, Speed and Zulu all followed suit, with Scowl revealing that Pest Control had alerted them to the issue.This Friday! A benefit for Palestine

Latitude 2024 due to the festival’s sponsorship with Barclays and its ties to Israel.They are the two leading names when it comes to the comedians who are boycotting this year’s edition of the event, and follow numerous musical acts who are refusing to perform while it is still sponsored by the bank.Joanne McNally announced her withdrawal from the festival last week, when she shared an update online. She was set to close the comedy tent at Latitude 2024, which will be held at Henham Park in Suffolk between July 25 and 28.“I’m getting messages today about me performing at Latitude when it’s being sponsored by Barclays,” she began on Instagram (via Goss.ie).

Scowl, Speed and Zulu have become the latest bands to pull out of Download 2024 over its partnership with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The news follows a similar move from Leeds hardcore band Pest Control who announced they would be pulling out earlier today (June 10), saying that they would not “take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide.”In a statement posted to their social media, Scowl wrote: “We will not be playing Download fest this year due to Barclays Bank sponsorship of the event and Barclays’ connection to Israel and the genocide Israel is committing in Palestine.“Free Palestine!”They directed fans to the Bands Boycott Barclays campaign for more information and thanked Pest Control “for bringing this to our attention”.Meanwhile, Speed wrote on their social media accounts: “SPEED will no longer be playing Download Festival this Friday June 14 due to the recent news of Barclays Banks sponsorship of the event and their involvement in the war in Gaza.”Zulu announced they would be dropping out shortly after. In their statement, they said: “We will not be playing Download Festival as we just got word about Barclays Bank and their sponsorship of the fest.

Pest Control have pulled out of Download 2024 over its sponsorship with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The band took to their official Instagram to share a statement explaining why they would be boycotting the annual festival in Donnington. “We have made the decision to pull out of our upcoming shows at Download festival this week (Wednesday 12th June and Sunday 16th June),” began their statement.They explained that they are taking part in the boycott against Barclays bank who are sponsoring the music festival.

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).The campaign has called for the boycott amidst the ongoing developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict, which recently saw Israel carry out an airstrike operation in Rafah. The airstrike was estimated to have killed at least 37 people between May 27-28, according to The Associated Press.They also reported the attack caused several tents to catch fire, killing more residents in Rafah, which is home to thousands of displaced Palestinians from all over the Gaza Strip.Now, music organisations, labels and promoters such as Dark Entries, Techno Queers, Dweller, Noise Not Music, Night Slugs, 8-ball community, Gold Bolus Recordings, NYC Noise, FIST and many more have committed themselves to the boycott.PACBI is an offshoot of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS), which was behind the huge wave of drop-outs from The Great Escape and Latitude Festival this year.

Kneecap have discussed their reasons for not participating in the boycott of The Great Escape last month.Over 100 artists pulled out of the Brighton festival over its sponsorship by Barclays, which has been accused of financial ties to companies arming Israel. However, the bank claims it is “trading in shares of listed companies in response to client instruction or demand”.The Irish rap trio’s decision was caused some controversy online given that they have always taken a stand against what they call Israel’s “occupation and genocide” of Gaza.They helped to raise nearly £100,000 for a volunteer gym in the Aida Refugee Camp in Palestine and spoken publicly about it via social media and a message shared after a high-profile appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. They have also made headlines for ignoring Irish public broadcaster RTÉ’s requests to not wear pro-Palestine badges.Kneecap did participate in the boycott of SXSW (after the UK government withdrew arts funding to get them to get there; resulting in a legal battle) after discovering the US military was supporting the festival.

K.J. Yossman Over 100 Jewish creatives have signed an open letter accusing the BBC of double standards over the corporation’s response to a cricket commentator’s controversial comments.

EXCLUSIVE: The murder investigation of Scott Johnson, which highlighted a slew of homophobic killings in Australia in the 1980s, is to be explored in a new feature film.