Alcopop and Huge Scary Monsters report labels be a part of The Nice Escape boycott over Barclaycard sponsorship in solidarity with Gaza
Two report labels, Alcopop! and Huge Scary Monsters, have confirmed they’re becoming a member of the boycott of The Nice Escape over its ties to Barclays financial institution.
The Brighton-based competition is sponsored by the financial institution, which has been a supply of controversy amid the present occasions in Gaza due to its monetary funding in firms that offer arms to Israel.
The difficulty was first highlighted by a petition began by the promoter Catch a Pig and the band The Menstrual Cramps, and has since been signed by artists together with Kneecap, Lambrini Ladies, Alfie Templeman, Lip Critic, Wunderhorse and Mary within the Junkyard who’ve urged the competition to drop Barclays as a sponsor. Altogether, 208 of the 440 bands who had initially been booked for the line-up have signed the petition, which has 977 signees in whole.
It reads: “A financial institution that’s concerned in Israel’s genocide has no place at The Nice Escape, which is a fixture of the impartial music scene and has a prized place within the business. We refuse to let music be used to whitewash human rights violations. We can’t let our artistic outputs turn out to be smokescreens behind which cash is pumped into murdering Palestinians.” The petition can be found here.
Now, Alcopop! and Huge Scary Monsters have confirmed they are going to not be related to The Nice Escape. “To be associating with Barclays doesn’t sit proper with our moral standpoint, and if we are able to do something to assist increase consciousness, and finally spotlight the company greed on the coronary heart of this horrendous genocide in Gaza, we’ll,” Alcopop! mentioned in an announcement.
Huge Scary Monsters confirmed that they’d pulled their showcase with Alcopop!, sharing a hyperlink to the petition and re-iterating requires The Nice Escape to chop ties with Barclays. The bands who have been speculated to play the showcase together with The Menstrual Cramps, Orchards and Different Half, have all pulled out.
To verify, we cannot be at The Nice Escape this 12 months https://t.co/OTjiBermYF pic.twitter.com/fw9NGo8tnV
— Alcopop! Information (@ilovealcopop) April 12, 2024
We have pulled our The Nice Escape showcase with @ilovealcopop @OtherHalfUK @Orchardslive and @M_cramps & be a part of the decision for the competition to drop Barclays as a sponsor.
Learn on for extra & for those who’re an artist who wish to signal the pledge, accomplish that right here – https://t.co/zrTgjFRLVS pic.twitter.com/240edkBj9L
— Huge Scary Monsters (@bsmrocks) April 10, 2024
Quite a few different acts have additionally dropped out, together with Cherym, who mentioned in an announcement: “Barclays/Barclaycard are answerable for investing over £1bn+ into firms which can be arming the IDF and offering weaponry that allows the continuing atrocities towards Palestinians to proceed.”
“As a result of The Nice Escape’s reference to Barclays/Barclaycard, we really feel in good conscience, that we can’t go forward with our scheduled performances at The Nice Escape. We’ve got been informed by The Nice Escape that the competition has no affiliation with Barclays/Barclaycard instantly this 12 months, however as a result of refusal to take away them as a sponsor from their promoting we merely can’t participate.”
In the meantime, Rett Madison additionally confirmed she can be dropping out: “In assist of the Palestine Solidarity Marketing campaign, I’m becoming a member of the boycott of Barclays and withdrawing my efficiency at The Nice Escape Pageant this Could.”
NME has contacted The Nice Escape for remark.
The transfer comes a month after swathes of artists refused to play Austin’s SXSW Pageant, because of its connections with the US Military and weapons firms amid the Israel-Gaza battle.
Gruff Rhys, Kneecap, Sprints, Lambrini Ladies, Gel, Rachel Chinouriri, Cardinals and NewDad all finally pulled out from SXSW, in addition to each Irish act on the invoice. Lots of the artists expressed that they’d made the choice out of solidarity with the folks of Palestine.
In gentle of the withdrawals, SXSW launched an announcement concerning all the bands and artists who’ve been pulling out of the competition, saying: “We’re an organisation that welcomes various viewpoints. Music is the soul of SXSW, and it has lengthy been our legacy. We absolutely respect the choice these artists made to train their proper to free speech.”
Explaining its sponsorship with the US Military, SXSW wrote: “The defence business has traditionally been a proving floor for lots of the techniques we depend on immediately. These establishments are sometimes leaders in rising applied sciences, and we imagine it’s higher to grasp how their method will influence our lives.”