OPINION/ANALYSIS: The iconic festival’s three founders resigned in October 2025. What their departure reveals about private equity and cultural ownership
It’s a strange thing to watch a cultural institution grapple with an existential crisis in real time. After 31 years building Sónar into one of Europe’s most respected electronic music festivals, founders Enric Palau, Ricard Robles, and Sergio Caballero announced their resignation in October 2025, handing over complete control to François Jozic, CEO of Superstruct’s Centris group and co-founder of Brunch Elektronik.
The timing coincided with an unprecedented backlash that fundamentally challenged Sónar’s credibility within the electronic music community. Whether that backlash directly influenced their departure remains unclear, though the symbolic connection is difficult to ignore.
How We Got Here: A Brief History of Corporate Ownership
To understand the context of the founders’ exit, the financial structure behind Sónar’s ownership shift is crucial.
Sónar was founded in 1994 by Palau, Robles, and Caballero as an independent festival balancing cutting-edge electronic music with live art and technology. For nearly a quarter century, it operated under founder control. In 2018, they sold the majority stake to Superstruct Entertainment. On paper, this represented a growth opportunity. Superstruct, founded in 2017 by Creamfields’ James Barton, positioned itself as a European promoter focused on festival expansion.
KKR manages $638 billion as of Q4 2024, and $686 billion as of Q2 2025, acquired Superstruct for €1.3 billion. This transaction placed Sónar, along with approximately 80 other European festivals including Sziget, Field Day, and Truck Festival, under the same ownership structure as Boiler Room, the online broadcaster.
Boiler Room’s KKR Acquisition: Why Artists Are Boycotting the Underground Icon
According to public filings and investigative reporting, KKR’s investment portfolio includes positions in weapons manufacturers including Novaria Group and Circor International; Israeli defense and technology companies; fossil fuel infrastructure projects; and, until April 2025, KKR divested its stake in Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate that owns Yad2. According to The Intercept’s 2024 investigation, Yad2 has advertised Israeli settlement properties in occupied Palestinian territories, generating revenue for both the platform and its parent company.
May 2025: The Artist Response and Community Mobilization
The acquisition prompted organized responses from the music community. In April 2025, over 100 artists signed an open letter addressed to Field Day demanding the festival “distance itself from KKR’s investments,” citing concerns about the firm’s holdings in weapons manufacturing and Israeli companies operating in occupied Palestinian territories.
What followed was significant artist withdrawal from Superstruct festivals. Palestinian DJ Sama Abdulhadi announced she would not perform at KKR-affiliated events. The South Asian electronic collective Daytimers canceled scheduled performances. By May, approximately 28 artists had withdrawn from Sónar specifically, according to festival reports.
Online discourse on platforms including Reddit and Discord revealed divided community perspectives. Some users expressed support for boycott actions as a form of accountability. One commenter on r/SonarFestival wrote: “Never let anyone tell you boycotting doesn’t work,” particularly following news of the founders’ departure.
Other community members presented alternative viewpoints. On the same subreddit, users noted that KKR manages $530 billion in assets, with Sónar representing “only a tiny fraction,” and questioned whether festival cancellations would meaningfully impact the firm’s operations or primarily affect Barcelona’s economy and local artists.
The “Not a Single Euro” Statement and Its Contested Interpretation
In response to boycott pressure, Sónar issued a statement claiming the festival would “not send a single euro to KKR,” emphasizing that all revenue remains within Superstruct operations.
This claim prompted analytical pushback from investigative journalists. Shawn Reynaldo, writing for First Floor, argued that this statement, while technically accurate, misrepresents how investment capital functions: “Regardless of whether or not Sónar sends profits to Superstruct or KKR, they have serious value. That’s why they were acquired in the first place. If these festivals do well, their value increases, which boosts the value of Superstruct’s portfolio, and KKR’s portfolio in turn.”
Superstruct has not publicly responded to this specific critique of their financial claims.
October 2025: The Founders’ Departure
By October 2025, all three founders announced their resignation. In their joint statement, they wrote: “We’re deeply grateful to all the people, institutions, partners, and friends who have been part of this story… Now, each of us is embarking on a new stage with enthusiasm, with the desire for Sónar to continue to project itself successfully into the future.”
Mixmag reported that the departure constituted a “planned exit” previously agreed upon during the 2018 Superstruct sale. This timeline explanation suggests the resignation may be unrelated to recent controversy, though some observers have questioned this interpretation given the unprecedented cultural pressure surrounding the festival at that specific moment.
François Jozic was appointed as new CEO. Superstruct stated that Jozic would “protect, nurture, and strengthen Sónar’s legacy.”
Community Reactions: Mixed Responses to the Transition
The announcement generated varied responses across the electronic music community.
Reddit users expressed conflicting perspectives. Some viewed the founders’ departure as validation of boycott efforts. Others questioned whether the transition meaningfully addressed underlying concerns about KKR ownership, noting that “Sónar is still owned by KKR” regardless of leadership changes.
Music industry professionals expressed sadness about generational transfer dynamics. One promoter commented to VICE: “The founders leaving doesn’t fundamentally change the ownership structure. But symbolically, it’s significant. They couldn’t maintain their association with the festival under these circumstances.”
Superstruct and KKR have not publicly addressed whether the founders’ departure was influenced by the boycott movement or community backlash.
Private Equity and Cultural Spaces
The Sónar situation reflects broader industry dynamics. Over the past decade, festival ownership has increasingly consolidated under corporate entities including Live Nation, Superstruct, and SFX Entertainment. This consolidation raises ongoing questions within the music community about founder autonomy, investment ethics, and corporate accountability in cultural spaces.
Whether this consolidation represents inevitable industry evolution or problematic cultural extraction remains contested among festival operators, artists, and community members.
The Unresolved Questions
Sónar will operate in June 2026 under new leadership and continued KKR ownership. Critical questions remain unresolved: whether KKR will address specific community concerns about its investment practices; whether artist participation will stabilize or continue declining; and whether the founders’ departure signals systemic challenges in private equity ownership of cultural institutions or simply represents planned succession timing.
What remains clear is that the festival that Palau, Robles, and Caballero spent 31 years building now operates under ownership structures fundamentally different from those they originally created.
Sources:
- Mixmag Asia – “Sónar founders cut ties with festival amid controversy over Superstruct/KKR ownership”
- BusinessWire / KKR Official – “KKR to Acquire Pan-European Live Entertainment Group Superstruct from Providence Equity Partners”
- We Are Solomon – “KKR: From Greece’s ‘red loans’ to the occupied territories of Palestine”
- Mixmag – “Brian Eno, Ben UFO and Jyoty sign open letter calling on Field Day to distance itself from KKR”
- First Floor (Substack) – “Sónar and Superstruct Are Still Spinning Half-Truths—and the…”
- IQ Magazine – “Superstruct festivals respond to KKR boycott calls”
- Catalan News – “Sónar confirms cancellation of 28 artists due to festival’s…”
- Catalan News – “Government backs artists who pulled out of Sónar over Israeli investment ties”
- Wikipedia – “Sónar”
- KKR Official – “2024 Sustainability Report”
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I can understand people having an issue with corporate ownership but can’t stand when any particular group wants to cancel anyone else. It’s a music festival. Come to see music or not but leave me alone with your biased political view or protests.