Latest news with #Superstruct
CairoScene
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Why Are Artists Boycotting Sónar Festival 2025?
Why Are Artists Boycotting Sónar Festival 2025? Over 70 artists have dropped out of Sónar 2025 over ties to KKR, an investment giant linked to arms and Israeli military tech. More than 70 artists have pulled out of Sónar Festival 2025 in protest of its ownership ties to KKR, a global investment firm linked to weapons manufacturing, surveillance technology, and Israeli military contracts. What began as a quiet call to accountability has grown into a full-blown boycott campaign, raising urgent questions about the politics behind music festival funding. KKR—short for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts—acquired Superstruct Entertainment in 2020. Superstruct owns or controls more than 80 festivals worldwide, including Sónar, Outlook, DGTL, and Parookaville. With the ongoing genocide in Gaza and heightened scrutiny over financial complicity, artists and activists are demanding transparency about who funds the events they participate in, and what those companies profit from. The boycott was spearheaded by the Palestinian-led BDS movement, which called Sónar's relationship with KKR 'involuntary complicity in genocide.' That statement struck a chord. In a matter of days, artists like Ikonika, Florentino, Manuka Honey, and ABADIR publicly canceled their scheduled appearances. Egyptian artist ABADIR wrote: 'I can't participate in good conscience… This is about anti-racism and solidarity.' Sónar initially responded by stating that it 'promotes respect for human rights.' But as pressure mounted, the festival issued a second statement on May 19th, saying: 'We have no control over KKR's investments, and we express solidarity with Gaza's civilians.' It added, 'No ownership structure will define who we are.' But many aren't buying it. Amsterdam's DGTL Festival, also owned by Superstruct, released a much firmer statement acknowledging that 'KKR's investments are unethical' and promising to reassess its affiliations. Even Boiler Room came under fire after launching a pro-Palestine fundraising campaign while remaining silent about its own past ties to KKR, a contradiction that artists and audiences were quick to point out. For many, the issue is not just about Gaza. It's about the role of music in systems of oppression. As stages grow larger and more corporate, the decisions about who profits from culture, and who is erased by it, are no longer invisible.
Daily Mirror
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Field Day festival issues statement amid as top acts drop out boycott shows
The London music festival Field Day has issued an updated statement clarifying its stance on an Israeli investment firm in the aftermath of multiple acts drop out of the line-up Field Day festival has shared an updated statement about its ties to an investment firm KKR after multiple artists pulled out of this year's festival, citing its holdings in Israel. To date, fifteen artists have withdrawn from this year's line-up, including multiple members of the femme music collective Sisu Crew, Midland, Spray, Roza Terenzi and Regularfantasy. The boycott comes just two weeks after over 200 artists signed an open letter calling on the festival to publicly distance itself from KKR. KKR is a global investment firm with holdings in Israel and is the parent company of Superstruct Entertainment, the promoter of Field Day. In an updated statement shared on May 20 - just five days before the event - Field Day made a hardened stance against KKR, saying its initial statement a few days prior didn't sufficiently explain its position. In its lengthy new statement, Field Day writes: 'We would like to say, clearly and directly, that we stand with the people of Gaza and support the peaceful aims of the Palestinian civil organisations and everyone working tirelessly to give them a voice.' Field Day emphasised that it 'failed' artists and audience members by not addressing the open letter earlier. It restates that partnering with Superstruct secured the festival's future and that it had 'no knowledge or influence' in KKR's investment in Superstruct but added a condemnation of the investment firm. 'We are passionately opposed to KKR's unethical investments in Israel,' says Field Day, adding that it respects the artists that have 'taken a stance' and welcomes the other artists still on the line-up to do the same. The open letter from artists that Field Day is responding to claimed that KKR's investments make it complicit in genocide and 'apartheid regime' and that Field Day is now 'implicated' and has 'an urgent and profound legal and moral obligation to take a clear stand against KKR's complicity'. The letter called on the festival to 'publicly distance itself from KKR' and make its own position clear. The letter was penned by a coalition of DJs, led by femme collective Sisu Crew, and received over 230 signatures from artists including Brian Eno, Jyoty, Ben UFO, Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja. The letter was published on April 29 but artists began to pull out after there was no public response from the festival. More than a week after the letter was published, members of the music collective Sisu Crew announced it would no longer be playing the festival. The collective shared on its Instagram page that it would be withdrawing 'our stage, our line-up, and our labour' from Field Day. The Sisu Crew members who pulled out of this year's line-up include: Malissa, Ariana V, inda flo, Calaida, GUYZ, Jezebelle, ŌKAMI, Chickie, izzy. and Moontalk. Only a few days later, Midland, Roza Terenzi, Spray, Regularfantasy, Voices Radio and Corsica Studios also pulled out of the event. In its initial statement shared on May 15, Field Day opened with an apology for 'taking this long' to respond to the artists' open letter. The festival shared that it had 'no say' when the company was bought by KKR in 2024, but was challenged by many artists and planned attendees. Some ticketholders for the upcoming event are calling on the festival to issue refunds given the reduced line-up. In one comment on the festival's Instagram page, one user wrote: '43 artists to 24 now. This is ridiculous. Ticket holders should be offered refunds, this isn't the festival we originally paid for'. Another wrote: 'Why are we not able to refund our tickets if you're claiming to be close to sell out??? The artists I wanted to see aren't performing anymore - the event is not what it was advertised as.' The festival is set to take place as scheduled in Brockwell Park on May 24, despite a recent High Court ruling put the festival at risk of being shut down. Peggy Gou will headline the festival with more acts 'TBA' according to the official website.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Love Home Swap founder Wosskow screened for Channel 4 chair job
A start-up founder who leads a government-backed female entrepreneurship initiative is among the contenders to become the next chair of Channel 4. Sky News understands that Debbie Wosskow is among the names featuring on a list of candidates to replace Sir Ian Cheshire, who stepped down earlier this year. The race to lead the state-owned broadcaster's board has acquired additional importance in recent weeks after the resignation of Alex Mahon, its long-serving chief executive. Ms Mahon, who was a vocal opponent of the last government's proposed privatisation of Channel 4, is leaving to join Superstruct, a private equity-owned live entertainment company. The appointment of a new chair is expected to take place by the autumn, with the chosen candidate expected to lead the recruitment of Ms Mahon's successor. Dawn Airey, the veteran television executive, is serving as Channel 4's interim chair but has reportedly ruled herself out of the running for the role on a longer-term basis. Ms Wosskow is already on the board of Channel 4, having joined as a non-executive director in January last year. It was unclear on Tuesday whether any of the broadcaster's other non-executives have thrown their hat into the ring to succeed Sir Ian. Ms Wosskow, who now jointly chairs the Invest In Women taskforce, founded the home exchange start-up Love Home Swap before selling it to Wyndham in 2017. The appointment of directors of Channel 4 is technically led by Ofcom, the media regulator, in agreement with the culture secretary. Channel 4 has been contacted for comment, while Ms Wosskow declined to comment when approached by Sky News.
The Guardian
04-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
ITV and Channel 4 face summer of uncertainty amidst leadership issues and potential mergers
With Channel 4 facing months of stopgap interim leadership and ITV in talks over a potential merger of its programme-making operation with a rival belonging to an Abu Dhabi-backed fund, the UK's biggest free-to-air commercial broadcasters face a destabilising and uncertain summer. Earlier this week, Alex Mahon, Channel 4's chief executive, announced she is to stand down this summer after almost eight years in the role. During her tenure, Channel 4's first female chief executive navigated the pandemic, but was criticised for taking home millions in pay and bonuses, while pushing through the largest round of job cuts in 15 years as the broadcaster weathered the worst ad recession since the 2008 financial crisis. Big cuts to Channel 4's content budget, and pausing some recommissions, put severe strain on the hundreds of independent producers reliant on Channel 4. After her predecessor fought off privatisation in 2017, Mahon was the architect of Channel 4's move to significantly increase its presence outside the capital, including opening a 'national headquarters' in Leeds, and opting to sell its London headquarters of 20 years. Meanwhile ITV – whose chief executive, Carolyn McCall, is now in her eighth year in charge – is also facing a summer of uncertainty. McCall, who has struggled to get investors to buy into ITV's future prospects, is also considered by many observers to be nearing the end of her time in charge and is seeking to go out with a win on her résumé, with speculation growing about a potential deal for its successful programme-making division. The notice period of a chief executive is typically a year, and although it is common practice to reduce this in certain situations, Mahon is making a hasty exit. Mahon's departure, to head up live events and festivals company Superstruct later in the summer, leaves Channel 4 under interim leadership for an extended period of time and her successor will not enjoy the handover Mahon had. Her predecessor David Abraham's contract with Channel 4 extended almost three months after Mahon began her role in early October 2017. The management merry-go-round at Channel 4 is further thrust into unknown territory due to the fact it will also continue to operate with an interim chair, the former Channel 5 executive Dawn Airey, for months to come. Previous chair Ian Cheshire announced his departure last December and ended a single term on 10 April. In December, media regulator Ofcom, which is responsible for appointing a new chair subject to approval by the culture secretary, said it would start the hunt for his replacement 'soon'. However, the closing date for applications, in a process being run with executive search firm Russell Reynolds, only closed last Sunday night. 'This is destabilising,' said one former senior Channel 4 executive. 'If you are a senior executive you're obviously not sure who is going to get in. Jonathan Allan [interim chief executive] and Dawn will obviously do a good job but I would say it is never ideal to have a transition of those two roles at the same time. 'And given the notice period you'd also expect before a new chief executive could join, there will be a lengthy hiatus on any major decisions, probably well into 2026.' The hunt for a new chief executive is yet to start but a number of high profile media industry figures have already emerged as potential contenders who could take on the role. Internally there is Allan, the operations chief who went for the top job but lost out to Mahon last time, and programming boss Ian Katz. Names in the frame externally include Sarah Rose, who launched Channel 4's streaming service and is now the boss of Channel 5 and UK regional lead for parent Paramount, with executives facing an uncertain future as the US media company faces an $8bn takeover. The role may also pique the interest of the Telegraph chief executive, Anna Jones, who is also facing an uncertain future with the protracted sale of the titles, although she lacks TV experience. Channel 4 defended the board's decision on the relatively hasty departure of Mahon. 'Alex Mahon's departure is being managed appropriately by the board, with current interim arrangements approved to ensure continuity and stability while the board undertakes a comprehensive recruitment process over the coming months,' said a Channel 4 spokesperson. A senior figure at one executive search firm has also criticised the state of the recruitment process for the next Channel 4 chair. 'Almost five months just to get to the closing date for applicants seems a stretch,' says the executive. 'Cheshire would have let it be known a good couple of months before the announcement, so there was plenty of behind the scenes time to get the recruitment machine ready. 'Even allowing for Christmas and New Year a closing date in February should have been plausible. What you ideally want is a handover period between chairs, but failing that certainly not a huge gap. And any new chair will want to be fully involved in the chief executive appointment.' Ofcom defended its progress saying that the timeline in place is to ensure it attracts the best candidates for the role. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'We've been working to develop a recruitment process that will attract the best candidate for this important role,' said a spokesperson. 'That is well under way, we've received a great deal of interest and we intend to make an appointment as soon as possible.' Over at ITV, its share price has risen 12% since the beginning of the year as investors warm to reports that a deal to merge its successful programme-making division with a rival is on the cards. While the broadcasting arm's transition to streaming with ITVX is gathering pace, the reliance on the declining traditional linear TV ads continues to prove a switch-off for investors. Some City analysts have argued the successful production arm, maker of shows from Love Island to Disney's Rivals and I'm A Celebrity, could be worth more than all of ITV's current market value of £3bn. In January, reports emerged that ITV had entered early talks with private equity firm RedBird IMI, which was blocked from taking control of the Daily Telegraph. RedBird last year struck a £1.2bn deal to buy All3Media, the maker of shows including Call the Midwife and The Traitors. ITV had tried to buy All3Media, a deal would have created a TV production superpower, but it fell through at the 11th hour over price. RedBird IMI is 75% funded by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and owner of Manchester City football club, which was forced to put the Telegraph titles back up for sale last spring after the British government passed a law blocking foreign states or associated individuals from owning newspaper assets in the UK. While any deal with ITV would not involve its broadcasting arm, which would immediately raise similar issues about influence and control over news, some believe that any deal with the UAE-backed firm could be too controversial for a UK public service broadcaster. 'At the moment, the sheikh feels too close for comfort to ITV,' says Alice Enders, a media analyst. 'People do not feel happy with his 75% ownership of RedBird IMI. He has to be out of the picture, at least if you want to keep things simple and not face a potential Telegraph-style blowback. The opposition is to the state, the sheikh, and it feels like ITV Studios is not far enough from ITV the broadcaster.' Talks have reportedly stalled on the issue of not just price but governance rights such as board representation in any joint venture. An industry source contested that the issues faced by RedBird IMI in relation to it taking control of the Telegraph do not translate to a similar threat in the broadcasting sector. The source said that there is complete operational separation between ITV's broadcasting and studio operations, and that in any case the broadcaster last year renewed a new 10-year licence with Ofcom, including stringent requirements around responsibilities including news provision. Earlier this week it emerged that French entertainment giant Banijay Group, owner of the TV production business behind shows such as Traitors, is also seeking to do a deal to combine its unit with ITV Studios. However, Banijay also has its own chequered history. Banijay Group is controlled by controversial French businessman Stéphane Courbit's LOV Group, which owns a 45% stake. In 2015, Courbit was one of a number people found guilty by a French court of taking advantage of L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, then France's second-richest woman, who died in 2017. Courbit was fined €250,000 by a judge for wrongfully obtaining €144m in investment funds for his businesses from Bettencourt. 'Carolyn McCall [ITV chief executive] has been there almost eight years and it has been tough to get investors to buy into its future,' said one TV industry executive. 'An ITV Studios deal will give her a successful legacy, she isn't going to let it go wrong.'
Sky News
30-04-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Channel 4 chief Mahon to run live entertainment group Superstruct
Alex Mahon, the Channel 4 chief executive, is to become the new boss of the live entertainment group behind Cornwall's Boardmasters festival. Sky News has learnt that Ms Mahon, whose departure after eight years at the state-owned broadcaster was announced earlier this week, is to take the helm at Superstruct Entertainment. Superstruct, which is owned by the buyout firms KKR and CVC Capital Partners, is expected to announce the appointment this week, according to private equity insiders. It is understood to have been briefing festival management teams on Ms Mahon's move on Wednesday morning. Her arrival will give Ms Mahon the opportunity to earn a more lucrative remuneration package than the one on offer to her at Channel 4. Superstruct owns and operates more than 80 music festivals across ten countries in Europe and Australia. Since the company was established in 2017 by Providence Equity Partners, its former owner, Superstruct has expanded both organically and through acquisitions into a major live entertainment group. Its portfolio includes some of Europe's most popular festivals, including Wacken Open Air, Defqon.1, Tinderbox, Boardmasters and Sónar, which is held annually in Barcelona. KKR and CVC both declined to comment on Wednesday. Ms Mahon's arrival at the company comes nearly a year after it was bought by KKR in a deal worth about £1bn. CVC took a minority stake in the business several months later. Her exit from Channel 4 came as little surprise given the length of her tenure, and leaves the television group hunting a new boss. "I feel lucky beyond belief to have had the chance to lead Channel 4 for nearly eight years - through calm seas (very few) and stormy waters (more than our fair share)," Ms Mahon said on Monday. "From navigating the threat of privatisation (twice), to shifting out of London, to digital transformation, lockdowns, political upheaval, advertising chaos - there has never been a dull moment." Channel 4 was in line to be privatised under the last Conservative government, with a number of bidders weighing offers for it before the process was pulled.
