SXSW Music Festival Ends U.S. Army Partnership After Palestine Backlash

The popular South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival ended its partnership with the U.S. Army because of its support of Israel against Hamas terrorists. 

“After careful consideration, we are revising our sponsorship model. As a result, the US army, and companies who engage in weapons manufacturing, will not be sponsors of SXSW 2025,” the festival said in a revised statement on its website. In addition to the Army, aerospace defense contractor RTX Corporation, which used to be known as Raytheon Technologies.

The decision comes after over 80 artists withdrew from the downtown Austin annual festival this past spring because of its U.S. Army and arms manufacturing partnership. Both groups were scheduled to sponsor at least nine upcoming music events and showcases.

It’s unclear what the artists would do if they were ever involved in a situation where they needed the U.S. Army’s help or even assistance from the U.S. National Guard in the event of a national emergency, but for now these bands and musicians aren’t having anything to do with the military.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 16:  A general view of the atmosphere during the World Premiere of “The Idea of You” during 2024 SXSW Conference And Festival at The Paramount Theatre on March 16, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images)

SXSW CAVED TO ARTISTS

Initially, SXSW had defended working with the U.S. Army, saying it believed that the military branch was “a proving ground” for new technology and that the Army “is part of our commitment to bring forward ideas that shape our world.”

However, the music festival caved and has now shifted course – while also delving into the political stratosphere which, as we all know, is never going to end well in the ever-divisive world. Texas Governor Greg Abbott let his feelings known when he tweeted “Bye. Don’t come back,” at the bands as Texas has a number of military bases. 

Don’t look now, but what I believe we are starting to see is only the beginning.

What started with the college campus Pro-Palestinian protests – many of which had outside influence and financial backing, has now grown to other areas such as music and entertainment. 

The popular Download Festival, for example, faced artists also pulling out because Barclays was a sponsor, who also has financial ties with the military arms industry. And just like in the SXSW case, Barclays was removed as a financial backer for the Festival. In case you weren’t aware, Barclays’ market cap is $39 BILLION, and has a tremendous amount of say and backing. It losing out on not having to pay out of their own pocket to be part of a music festival will not hurt their bottom line, but it could hurt other startup industries and projects which need financial backing from the likes of Barlcays or the U.S. Army, etc.

I expect this movement to target advertisers and sponsors that support Israel or the U.S. military to only continue to grow and it will engulf everything from Hollywood to the local level. At this rate, it may only be a matter of time until there are protests about having the military involved in any of your town parades. 

Wild times we are living in.