Paramore and Hayley Williams join ‘No Music for Genocide’ Israel boycott

Paramore and Hayley Williams have joined the ‘No Music for Genocide’ movement.

• READ MORE: Hayley Williams’ surprise 17-song release is a bold choose-your-own-adventure through hope and heartache

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.

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.

Williams’ solo catalogue, as well as Paramore’s music, was recently added to the campaign’s official website, joining the likes of Fontaines D.C., Amyl & The Sniffers, and Kneecap.

Other artists, who are largely on independent labels, participating in the campaign include Rina Sawayama, MIKE, Primal Scream, Faye Webster, and Japanese Breakfast, Yaeji, King Krule, MJ Lenderman, Mannequin Pussy, Wednesday, Soccer Mommy and MØ.

Paramore haven’t commented on joining the campaign, but first made a call for donations to support aid to Gaza back in May 2024, as Israel intensified its military operations in Rafah. They had also previously supported Save the Children, and encouraged donations to Doctors Without Borders’ Emergency Fund.

At the time, they said: “We do not believe that support for our Palestinian friends and family equals anti-Semitism. We love our Jewish friends and family and pray for the safe return of the remaining hostages. That being said, we simply cannot support a genocide.

Then, last September, they teamed up with fashion designer Bug Girl for a merch collaboration to benefit Medical Aid for Palestinians.

The ‘No Music For Genocide’ campaign say they aim 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.”

Massive Attack, who are involved in the campaign, have also 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”.

Other artists who are boycotting Spotify over Ek’s military investments include King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Xiu Xiu and Deerhoof.

In other news, Williams recently addressed rumours of a Paramore split, saying the band hasn’t broken up but is taking a break.

It comes as she releases her latest solo album ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’, with fans interpreting some of the album’s cryptic lyrics hinting at a potential breakup between her and Paramore guitarist Taylor York, who she confirmed she was dating in 2022.

‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’ has experienced a rather unique rollout – Williams first previewed 17 songs on her website for a limited time as a surprise project named ‘Ego’. Later, she released all the tracks on streaming platforms as individual singles.

Finally, late last month, she officially packed the songs as the ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’, along with a new 18th track ‘Parachute’. The physical album will be officially released on November 7, and is now available for pre-order here.

NME gave Williams a glowing five-star review for the 17-song collection, which read: “As with almost every era of Hayley Williams’ career, this new release has come with questions about the future of Paramore. The determined lyrics on the tender ‘I Won’t Quit On You’ should be all the reassurance worried fans need, but if that’s not enough, there’s plenty in this brilliant, swaggering new chapter to be excited about. These songs might be about missed second chances, but Williams is certainly making the most of hers.”