BMG reportedly parts ways with Roger Waters over comments on Israel

In 2016, music rights company BMG signed a publishing agreement with Roger Waters – but now that relationship is coming to an end.

Waters, one of the co-founders of Pink Floyd, has said that his being let go by BMG is a result of pressure by pro-Israeli groups towards BMG’s parent company Bertelsmann and meant to suppress his political beliefs.

Waters and BMG were originally set to release newly recorded versions of Pink Floyd’s 1973 album Dark Side Of The Moon last year but the project was scrapped when Thomas Coesfeld became the CEO. However, the rerecording was eventually released by Cooking Vinyl, a UK-based record label.

The rocker previously got into and won a legal dispute with the magistrates of Frankfurt who had told the venue to cancel his concert, accusing Waters of being “one of the most widely known antisemites in the world.”

He continues to deny any accusation of antisemitism

Waters has also denounced the war in Ukraine. At Russia’s invitation he spoke to the United Nations security council claiming that its 2022 invasion of Ukraine was “not unprovoked.”

Long before the present situation in the Middle East, Waters had been a vocal supporter of the BDS (Boycott, Disvestment, Sanction) organisation, which has tried to dissuade artists from performing in Israel. In 2017, he joined the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Julie Christie, Ken Loach, Thurston Moore, Nick Seymour, Maxine Peake, Alexi Sayle and Young Fathers in signing a letter asking Radiohead not to gig in Tel Aviv, which ultimately fell on deaf ears.