Goldband is among the artists boycotting the Zwarte Cross festival in protest against the new owner KKR, which has ties to Israel. Can the protests change the owner’s mind?
Previously, Youp van ‘t Hek, Claw Boys Claw, and Hang Youth had already decided to stay away from Zwarte Cross. They are unhappy with investment company KKR, which bought Superstruct last year. This is the parent company of Zwarte Cross, Milkshake, and other festivals.
You may not encounter KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.) in daily life. But companies in which KKR invests are less easy to avoid. For example, parking company Q-Park is owned by KKR, as are bungalows at Roompot and Landal holiday parks.
For Goldband and the other artists, it is about KKR’s ties with the Israeli army. KKR also invests in Circor, an American company that manufactures and sells weapons in Israel.
Furthermore, KKR invests money in media company Axel Springer. That concern owns Yad2, a platform that offers houses on the West Bank to Israelis. That is in violation of international law, because it is Palestinian territory.
Festivals can do little about it
The difficult thing for Goldband is that the festival can do nothing about those ties, says professor of corporate finance Peter Roosenboom. “Superstruct, the parent company of Zwarte Cross, is owned by a fund that falls under KKR,” he explains.
KKR manages various funds, each with investments in different regions and sectors. Decisions about investments are made by the funds that fall under KKR. And therefore not directly by the board of KKR itself, Roosenboom explains. “So there are a lot of steps between the Zwarte Cross and the conflict in Gaza.”
The American weapons company Circor falls under a different fund than Superstruct. On the KKR site, Circor is referred to as an industrial company in the United States. And Superstruct as a communication service in Europe. Every company that falls under KKR is in a sense free to determine its own policy.
Roosenboom: “Superstruct previously distanced itself from the actions of Israel in a statement earlier this year.” In it, the company calls for a ceasefire and the supply of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
‘Maybe there will be discussion within KKR’
The boycott of the Zwarte Cross artists is receiving a lot of attention. But Roosenboom has doubts whether the action will lead to change. “It could be that there is now discussion within KKR about their investments. Because at the moment I can imagine that KKR wants to limit the reputational damage, especially given the media attention that the action is now receiving.”
The investment company can choose to explain and defend the activities of Circor and Axel Springer. But it is questionable whether that can counter reputational damage.
“Since artists stopped performing at KKR festivals, there has been a constant stream of media attention,” says Nadia Slimi of BDS Nederland, an organization that deals with boycotts surrounding the situation in Gaza. “The artists are taking a financial risk by canceling. But they do put the theme on the agenda, even if they don’t save any Gazans with it.”
Roosenboom: “No company can suddenly demand the departure of an owner or investor. Only KKR could say: we are selling our interest in one of our companies. But that is entirely up to them.”