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The boycott, launched in early 2025, advocates for artists and labels to have their music restricted in Israel as a means of demonstrating solidarity in cultural protest. Rather than having artists music pulled from these platforms entirely, the campaign is set to employ a type of geo-blocking as a means of restricting access by region without leaving it inaccessible elsewhere. Following in the tone of traditional cultural boycotts, this particular movement has to now deal with the mechanics of digital streaming. For Lorde, the announcement builds on her recent political messages made throughout her current Ultrasound World Tour. Whilst performing her hit ‘Team’ (2013), she lit up the stage behind her with the Palestinian flag colours, underlining her participation in the boycott. IDLES, who have long maintained a reputation centred around socially charged lyrics and performances, are one of the more high-profile bands to announce their involvement, while the American trio MUNA and producer TOKiMONSTA has also confirmed their participation in the boycott as well.

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The movement has continued to grow rapidly since its initiation. Starting with around 400 artists, the tally has now just surpassed 1,000 participants in recent weeks. These artists encompass musicians from independent collectives to internationally touring acts. Its organisers describe the campaign as an active attempt to highlight the problem of cultural “normalisation” in response to the recent events in Gaza. However, the success of such will rely on the cooperation of mainstream platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, and how they will involve themselves with the geo-blocking requests.

The campaign’s expansion also raises questions about how effective geo-blocking will operate when put into practice. Critics note that streaming access is harder to regulate fully, with many stating whether the impact will effect the everyday listeners rather than affect the political institutions. Supporters counter that the movement is more symbolic than functional, a movement of withdrawal whose main goal is to create a visible disruption in cultural flow.

For now, ‘No Music for Genocide’ looks like it will continue to gather momentum, with the list of signatories growing weekly. The involvement of the headline names such as Lorde, IDLES, and MUNA gives the campaign a higher profile than before, bringing it into the lead of music-industry conversations. Whether it proves a lasting movement or whether it just remains largely symbolic, it marks another moment where the global music community intersects with the political climate, and where artists are testing how far their platforms extend beyond performance.

i chose a bunch of my favourite songs and made a tasty little covers album during lockdown and boy am i thrilled for you all to hear it. listen to Realiti and preorder the record at https://t.co/YghwWtKCIk (1/2) pic.twitter.com/gFxplRph69

— Marika Hackman (@MarikaHackman) September 15, 2020

Covers follows 2019’s Any Human Friend, which was widely received as some of Hackman’s best, most honest and self-proclaimed “unifying and sexy” work. Covers will likely allow Hackman to experiment musically and to pour herself into an album while at the same time taking a step back from the light that she shone on herself and her own experiences throughout Any Human Friend.

In addition to the announcement, Hackman shared one of the ten covers: a version of Grimes’ critically acclaimed ‘Realiti’. If this is a sign of what’s to come on Covers, then we should all be getting quite excited! You can listen to it below.

Hackman’s ‘Realiti’ is completely stripped back. The video that she shared sets her vocals against the visual of a car driving along a motorway at night, which produces the most distinctive feeling. Where Grimes’ original makes its mark with layers of electronic beats and synths, the power of Hackman’s version is all in her melodic, melancholic voice.

In addition to an album announcement and a song preview, Hackman has promised a live stream with her entire band on the release date. She will perform in an empty swimming pool. Tickets are available with an album pre-order, all of which can be found here. Alongside your ticket and album, Hackman instructs you to “bring your armbands.”

Speaking about the concept of the album, Hackman said, “when it comes to covers I like to pick songs which I have been listening to obsessively for a while. It gives me a natural understanding of the music, and lets me be more innovative with how I transform it.” An album dedicated to covers is a great place to really play with music and style, and it seems like this is exactly Hackman’s goal.

She has chosen to take on some major and distinctive artists, but I think we can expect to hear Beyonce like we’ve never heard her before in Hackman’s newest venture. Likewise, there are few other places that you might hear Grimes and Elliott Smith compliment one another – all in all, it points to a carefully thought out tracklist. It might be two months until anyone can get their hands on it, but already this project feels special.

Tracklist:

1. You Never Wash Up After Yourself (Radiohead)
2. Phantom Limb (The Shins)
3. Playground Love (Air)
4. Realiti (Grimes)
5. Jupiter 4 (Sharon van Etten)
6. Pink Light (MUNA)
7. Between The Bars (Elliott Smith)
8. Temporary Loan (Edith Frost)
9. In Undertow (Alvvays)
10. All Night (Beyonce)