Roger Waters has taken a lot of outspoken stances about geopolitical issues over the years, including a strong critique of Israel (and support for the pro-Palestinean Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement) that predates the current war by many years. His opposition to Israel has drawn backlash from former bandmate David Gilmour among others, who've argued that his anti-Zionist position tips over into antisemitism. Waters' stances have reportedly scared off buyers for Pink Floyd's catalog, and now they've apparently cost him his publishing deal.
As Variety reports, BMG, the German-owned company with whom Waters signed a publishing deal in 2016, is preparing to sever its relationship with the former Pink Floyd member. The report points out that in an interview with the similarly polarizing journalist Glenn Greenwald two months ago, Waters spoke of being "fired" by BMG. Reps for Waters and BMG declined comment to Variety, but a source close to BMG said the company's new CEO Thomas Coesfeld, who nixed BMG's release of Waters' re-recorded The Dark Side Of The Moon last year, personally made the decision to part ways with Waters. Although labels sometimes drop artists from their recording contracts over controversies, it is relatively rare to lose a publishing deal. Variety notes that a judge redirected sex criminal R. Kelly's publishing royalties from Sony Music and Universal to his victims, and Sony allowed its publishing deal with Kanye West to expire following his flurry of antisemitic rhetoric.
Waters has also faced career repercussions for his comments on Ukraine; he said Russia's invasion was illegal but "not unprovoked" and that "extreme nationalists" set Ukraine on the path to way, which led to Poland canceling some of his shows. The use of Nazi imagery in his Berlin performance of The Wall last year led to a police investigation and a proposed performance ban inFrankfurt, but Waters played the city without the offending imagery, which he said was "clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice, and bigotry in all its forms." The US State Department even got involved, condemning Waters and "his despicable Holocaust distortion."
