Germany-based music rights company BMG is ending its deal with the Pink Floyd co-founder over his divisive rhetoric
The music rights company BMG parting ways with the co-founder of Pink Floyd, Roger Watersbecause of the comments he made about it Israel, Ukraine and the United States, according to “Variety.”
The Germany-based label had signed a deal with the 80-year-old musician in 2016 and planned to release a re-recorded version of the album “Dark Side of the Moon” of Pink Floyd’s 1973 last year, but ultimately canceled the release after Thomas Coesfeld was hired as managing director. The re-recording was eventually released by UK label Cooking Vinyl.
Roger Waters dropped by BMG over Israel comments https://t.co/i0WxHqPxvM
— simon maginn (@simonmaginn) January 30, 2024
The “divorce” came about, the Guardian writes, because of Waters’ divisive rhetoric on Israel, which some have criticized as anti-Semitic the last months.
He remains defiant in the face of much backlash, including a German police investigation into a “Nazi-style” outfit he wore to an appearance in Berlin last year.
In April 2023, he won a legal battle to be allowed to play in Frankfurt after judges in the German city had ordered the venue to cancel a concert and accused the singer of being “one of the most notorious anti-Semites in the world”. He condemned the war in Ukraine but spoke to the UN Security Council at Russia’s invitation, arguing that its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was not “unprovoked”.
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) interviewed former colleagues who claimed the musician had repeatedly made derogatory references to Jews.
Waters, who has always denied accusations of anti-Semitism, spoke of being “fired” by BMG in a video interview with Glenn Greenwald last November. In fact, he described his “divorce” from the company as a result of pressure from pro-Israeli interests on BMG’s parent company, Bertelsmann.
Source :Skai
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