Hayley Williams has explained why Paramore‘s music has reappeared on streaming platforms in Israel despite the band joining the ‘No Music For Genocide’ boycott.
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Last week, Paramore and Williams shared that they would be removing their music from streaming platforms in Israel as part of the ‘No Music for Genocide’ movement. The campaign is a cultural boycott initiative encouraging artists and rights-holders to pull their music from streaming platforms in Israel in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Shortly after the band’s and Williams’ solo catalogue were added to the campaign’s official website, their music was pulled from streaming services in Israel. It is worth noting that the band had not publicly commented on the initiative.
However, fans noticed that a few days later, Paramore’s and Williams’ music was once again available in the country, leading to fans taking to social media to voice their disappointment.
One fan shared a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter), slamming Paramore for their silence on the matter. The poster wrote: “A public statement exclusive to Instagram Stories would’ve already gone a long way, even just to state your inability to answer this request directly but that you’ve demanded Atlantic do so anyway. Your influence is unarguably immense and when you call yourself a political band, the least you could do is be political when it matters most. Today you missed that chance.”
last tweet on this matter because i’m frankly tired of it @paramore pic.twitter.com/GLPTt0KZsz
— ana (@chrrybridgers) September 29, 2025
Hayley Williams has since responded to the post on her Instagram Stories, explaining what was happening behind the scenes: “Been waiting confirmation that all of the Atlantic albums are taken down and actively participating in the @nomusicforgenocide initiative. Speaking prematurely could only cause more confusion. I don’t know why those albums were made available again after being successfully geoblocked.”
She continued: “I have wondered whether those records are even able to be a part of this boycott but my team have been relentless in trying to help get it done. Lastly, I can only be a mouthpiece for myself right now but hopefully Paramore albums are/will remain taken down because it is my believe that boycotts work and I do think as many artists as possible should try and participate in this initiative.”
At the bottom of the post, Williams also thanked her fans for keeping the band accountable: “Love y’all and its really nice to know the people supporting Paramore do not support genocide and are willing to speak up and raise questions, even if those questions are about their band.”
See Hayley Williams’ full statement below.
🚨 Na semana passada, os álbuns do Paramore e de Hayley Williams foram bloqueados das plataformas de streaming de Israel, como parte da campanha ‘No Music For Genocide’, em apoio à Palestina.
Pouco tempo depois, os álbuns foram readicionados às plataformas de Israel pela antiga… https://t.co/umo2GdbQWm pic.twitter.com/KSEXxVSwge
— Paramore Brasil (@paramorebrasil) September 29, 2025
Other acts who have so far geoblocked their music in Israel include Fontaines D.C., Amyl & The Sniffers, Kneecap, Rina Sawayama, MIKE, Primal Scream, Faye Webster, Japanese Breakfast, Yaeji, King Krule, MJ Lenderman, Mannequin Pussy, Wednesday, Soccer Mommy and MØ.
Paramore first made a call for donations to support aid to Gaza back in May 2024, as Israel intensified its military operations in Rafah. They had also previously supported Save the Children, and encouraged donations to Doctors Without Borders’ Emergency Fund. Then, last September, they teamed up with fashion designer Bug Girl for a merch collaboration to benefit Medical Aid for Palestinians.
Massive Attack, who are involved in the No Music For Genocide campaign, have also asked their label, UMG, to remove their music not just from all streaming platforms in Israel, but from Spotify entirely. This is related to reports that the streamer’s CEO Daniel Ek has made significant investments “in a company producing military munition drones and AI technology integrated into fighter aircraft”.
Other artists who are boycotting Spotify over Ek’s military investments include King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Xiu Xiu and Deerhoof.
