Boiler Room, the long-running platform that archives videos of DJ sets from around the world, is under new ownership. In January 2025, the festival company Superstruct Entertainment bought Boiler Room from its previous owner, the online ticketing site DICE. As Resident Advisor reports, Superstruct Entertainment's parent company is KKR, a private equity firm with "ties to weapons manufacturers and companies involved in the development of illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank, including Axel Springer, Guesty, Circor International, and Advanced Navigation." In response the people behind Boiler Room have put out a statement affirming their dedication to the people of Palestine.
As Resident Advisor points out, artists like Ikonika, Beatrice M., Mia Koden, BasicDisarm, jtamul, and 8ULENTINA have canceled recent Boiler Room appearances because they didn't want to be complicit with Israeli genocide. In a statement posted on Instagram yesterday, Boiler Room's spokespeople wrote that KKR "has investments that categorically do not align with our values." They claim that Boiler Room's employees were not complicit on the sale to KKR and that they are "unable to divest" from the company. Despite their ownership situation, however, they write, "Boiler Room has been through various changes in control, investors, boards, and ownership, and through this our commitment to editorial independence and Palestine has never wavered." Read their full statement below.
ON OWNERSHIP
In September 2021, Boiler Room was acquired by DICE. All prior investors were removed from the business, and a new board was formed. At this point, DICE owned 100% of the company.
In January 2025, DICE sold Boiler Room to Superstruct, the 2nd largest festival group in the world and who are themselves owned by KKR, which has investments that categorically do not align with our values. No Boiler Room staff at any level held any ownership or voting rights in the company and had no control over the sale. We are also unable to divest because we have no say in our ownership.
Boiler Room has been through various changes in control, investors, boards, and ownership, and through this our commitment to editorial independence and Palestine has never wavered. No investor, past or present, has ever influenced our output, this will never change.
We will always remain unapologetically pro-Palestine. We continue to adhere to BDS and PACBI guidelines regarding artist programming and brand partnerships and engage with Palestinian artists and organisers in order to formalise our internal policies in line with this commitment. We uphold international law and human rights for all, regardless of identity.
EDITORIAL MISSION
Boiler Room's editorial mission is to champion grassroots scenes in every corner of the globe. Led by the communities we serve, we empower the artists, DJs, creative minds, risk takers, and community leaders to highlight causes and tell stories from the inside out.
We are committed to continuing this work and guarantee that it will always be in the DNA of Boiler Room.
You can read more on this at the link in bio.
Stereogum published a history of the Boiler Room DJ set last year; you can find it here. Free Palestine.
