Many artists backing out of music festivals snapped up by private equity firm KKR

Many Dutch artists are pulling out of festivals owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). They don’t agree with the American venture capitalist’s investments, including in companies active in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. They also seem concerned about private equity invading festivals, forcing up ticket prices and food prices, and destroying the vibe.

KKR owns multiple Dutch festivals. DGTL, Mysteryland, Amsterdam Open Air, and Zwarte Cross are among the Dutch festivals that have distanced themselves from their owner in recent days, NOS reports.

The venture capitalist also bought up the British festival organizer Supertruct Entertainment last year. The company owns and operates over 80 festivals in ten countries, including Awakenings and Defqon.1 in the Netherlands, Sziget in Budapest, and Sónar in Barcelona.

Over 70 artists have called on Sónar to distance itself from KKR’s “complicit investments,” which include fossil fuel projects like a natural gas pipeline in Canada, the arms sector, Israeli data and surveillance technology companies, and companies active in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Several DJs have also canceled their performances at Sónar, including the Rotterdam DJ duo Animistic Beliefs and Jeisson Drenth. They refuse to perform at KKR festivals in solidarity with Palestinians and other communities affected by the company’s activities. “We are tired of being made complicit in destruction by companies,” producer Mar Lalihatu told NOS. It is time for nightlife to take a critical look at the role of its major investors, the Rotterdam duo said.

Amsterdam DJ Cool Tiger is one of 200 artists who signed an open letter to the Field Day music festival, which will take place in London this weekend, calling on it to pull back from KKR. “We see our stance as a part of a longstanding tradition of the art and music world rejecting the injustice of oppression, and we continue that resistance today,” the letter states. The Amsterdam DJ told NOS that signing this letter was the “absolute minimum” he could do as an artist against the war in Gaza.

The artists also raised concerns about private equity invading festivals, forcing up ticket prices and food prices, and destroying the vibe.

Berend Schans, director of the Association of Dutch Pop Venues and Festivals, told the broadcaster that he understands the DJs’ concerns, but doesn’t think the KKR would have any involvement at the festivals’ program level. He also doesn’t expect ticket prices to rise immediately as soon as a festival changes owners. “Tickets are becoming increasingly expensive, but that is partly due to a tight labor market, rising energy prices, higher excise duties on alcohol, and because artists are becoming increasingly expensive.”