Published
Tue, Mar 3, 2020, 14:55
- A since-deleted video has led to an outpouring of criticism against the music tech giant.
German music gear multinational Behringer has been accused of using anti-Semitic imagery in a bizarre attempt at trolling music tech journalist Peter Kirn.
Known as a longtime observer of the music tech world, Kirn's CDM website is a key portal for independent perspectives on new products and industry trends. His work has drawn the ire of Behringer, which released a video Monday of a fictional new product bearing both Kirn's name and a cartoon depiction of the writer that has been accused of using tropes of anti-Semitic caricatures.
Behringer also appears to have sought to trademark Kirn's name for manufacturing instruments. Kirn himself already sells synths under the name MeeBlip. Behringer has since made the video private and deleted all social media posts related to the "KIRN CorkSniffer."
Uli Behringer later took to Facebook to apologise, saying, "What was meant as pure satire by our marketing department, has clearly offended some people and looking at the video, I could understand why. However, in no way did the team ever intend to make any connection to Semitism, as some people have alleged." That post has also been deleted.
Kirn has thanked supporters on Twitter. He told Resident Advisor that while he is not Jewish, "I take anti-Semitism very seriously, however, and it means I defer even more readily to my Jewish friends and colleagues. This isn't about me—there's no place for any image that can be interpreted in that way."
This is not the first time Behringer has attacked critics. In 2018, Chinese blog Midifan received a cease and desist letter threatening legal action after criticising Behringer's penchant for cloning synth designs and reporting on strikes held at its Chinese factories. The same year Behringer pursued a lawsuit against Dave Smith Instruments, one of Dave Smith Instruments' employees and 20 anonymous forum users—company namesake Uli Behringer later claimed, "I am a big believer in free speech and welcome any form of constructive criticism." Earlier this year, the team behind the Devil Fish modification of Roland's TB-303 synthesiser took a dispute with Behringer to the public.
Resident Advisor has reached out to Behringer.
This post has been updated to include Kirn's comment.