Following weeks of feverish chat about boycotts, we may have learned something. Boycotts are about more than hitting the “like” button on a social media post. Principles cost. Boycotts hurt. They hurt not just the intended target but the executor. In other words, you don’t withdraw from a mammoth Ed Sheeran tour just to look cool with your peace sign. It won’t just break your musical heart, it will probably destroy your solvency plan.

When Ed Sheeran’s Irish backing band, Beoga, left the tour in solidarity with one of the opening acts, US rapper Macklemore – who used those enormous audiences to talk about Palestine, genocide and the continuing loss of Gazan lives and was summarily ditched – the five Beoga members knew what they were sacrificing. Not just the stadium-sized audiences and the very comfortable touring accoutrements of any musician’s dream but, in a desperately precarious industry, the opportunity to plan ahead, buy a house, even start a pension. Based on the average income of a touring musician at that level, we can safely assume that each Beoga band member is sacrificing between €4,000 and €7,000 a week.

After a 10-year working relationship with Sheeran – whose tour continues – the band was set for more years of tours and security. They took a stand but it was the absence of rancour in the band’s parting statement that was notable. “We have been friends with Ed for over 10 years now and will continue........

© The Irish Times