Classic Hits Radio pulls Ed Sheeran's records over the Macklemore tour row

An Irish radio station has taken Ed Sheeran off the air entirely. Classic Hits Radio says it is removing his whole catalogue from its playlist for the foreseeable future, in direct response to the fallout from Macklemore's removal from Sheeran's Loop Tour after the rapper made pro-Palestine statements at MetLife Stadium.

Dave Kelly, group programme director at Bay Broadcasting, which operates the station, said the decision came after listening carefully to audience feedback and recognising how strongly people felt about it. That framing matters: this is a commercial station saying its listeners drove it, rather than a presenter making a personal stand.

The station acknowledged that Sheeran had given his own account of how Macklemore came off the bill, and decided it did not outweigh standing alongside the Irish artists who walked away from the tour themselves. Aaron Rowe and Beoga both left in solidarity, and Classic Hits said it respected those choices.

Its own position, as stated, is about peace, humanity and respect, and about standing with performers who made professional decisions on conviction rather than convenience. The station said it will keep monitoring the situation and keep listening to what its audience says.

The row has reached well past one tour bill. Radio, venues and artists are all being pushed into taking a public side in a way the music business usually manages to avoid, and Macklemore has since donated his entire earnings from the tour to Palestinian charities. His back catalogue has not suffered for it, and Can't Hold Us still leads Spotify's hip-hop streaming counts.

What the report does not carry is the other side. Nobody from Sheeran's camp, his label or the tour promoter is quoted, no start or end point for the ban is given, and the station has not said what would bring the records back. Consequences of this kind have been landing on artists all year, including when Singapore barred two members of Massive Attack over a pro-Palestine concert display. Sheeran's pop catalogue is the biggest thing yet to be pulled over it, and the argument reaches straight back into hip-hop.