The founders of Sónar disassociate themselves from the festival
His departure coincides with the controversy over the pro-Israeli fund behind the event.
BarcelonaThe three founders of Sónar, Enric Palau, Ricard Robles and Sergio Caballero, and the CEO, Ventura Barba, have completely disassociated themselves from the festival, according to has advanced The Vanguard and has been confirmed by ACN. This information suggests that a new CEO has been appointed, François Jozic, founder and until now the head of the Brunch Elektronic festival, also held in Barcelona.
Palau, Robles and Caballero, who founded Sónar in 1994, and Ventura Barba, who has been part of the management team in recent years, have shared a statement that was also received by ARA in which they recall that "these have been 32 magnificent and intense years, full of effort, challenges and moments." "Everything that Sónar has achieved over this time has been possible thanks to the talent and dedication of the creative communities that have supported us, the human team that has driven the project with passion, the city of Barcelona that has welcomed and inspired us, and the loyal public that has supported us year after year," the statement continues.
"We feel deeply grateful to all the people, institutions, partners and friends who have been part of this story and made it possible. Now, each of us begins a new stage with enthusiasm, with the desire that Sónar continues to project itself successfully into the future," says the statement signed by Enric Palau, Ricard Robles, Sergio Caballero and Ventura Barba. Its legacy, awarded in 2014 with the National Culture Prize, is immense. Sónar has been a model and role model as the avant-garde model and hedonistic spirit. This spirit is what Palau, Robles and Caballero transmitted to the team of programmers that they have renewed in recent years, aware that the pace of the present must be carried by a younger generation. In fact, at the press conference for the 2025 edition, Robles and Palau gave the floor
The management of Sónar is now in the hands of the promoter Superstruct Entertainment, acquired by the pro-Israeli investment fund KKR and majority owner of around eighty European festivals, including Viña Rock, FIB, Resurrection Fest, Monegros Desert Festival, the Monegros Desert Festival, has been the owner of Sónar since 2019, when it became the festival's majority investor. the controversy of the last edition of Sónar. The links to the pro-Israeli fund, in the midst of the genocide in Gaza, led to calls to boycott the festival and several artists even they canceled their participation. Sónar's own management condemned the genocide being committed in Gaza, a decision that was not in line with KKR's operations with Israeli companies.
Superstruct sources cited by The Vanguard They simply emphasize that "it had already been agreed with the founders [...] that at some point there would be a transition, a generational change." They add that Palau, Robles, and Caballero "leave behind an extraordinary legacy that we will nurture and protect with the entire team." They assure us, however, that François Jozic, the new CEO, will lead an "orderly and cordial transition" at the helm of the festival.