Music Industry Calling for "Blackout Tuesday" in Response to George Floyd Death
10:05 AM PDT 6/1/2020 by Mitchell Peters, Billboard
Numerous labels and artists are supporting "a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with our community."
The music industry is calling for a "Blackout Tuesday" in response to the death of George Floyd.
On Friday (May 29), less than a week after Floyd was suffocated by a Minneapolis police officer during an arrest, numerous music companies and artists began spreading a message on social media calling for “a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with our community" and “an urgent step of action to provoke accountability and change.”
"As gatekeepers of the culture, it's our responsibility to not only come together to celebrate the wins, but also hold each other up during loss," reads the statement, which is being circulated under the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused.
The proposed blackout is set for Tuesday, June 2.
Among those reposting the message are Warner Music Group, Sony/ATV, Apple Music's Ebro Darden, BMG, former Hot 97 music programming director Karlie Hustle, British record label Dirty Hit and independent distributor EMPIRE.
"All of my shows are cancelled. I will air replays of conversations with community activists, politicians and revolutionary music," Darden captioned his post on Instagram.
Spotify also announced that it would be "blacking out" — and specially curating — specific playlists, podcasts and channels while encouraging employees to take part in the day; other music companies that have said they will participate include RCA Records and Epic Records, Republic Records, Def Jam, Capitol Records and Atlantic, among others.
Earlier this week, a video of Floyd's death surfaced showing Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of Floyd for eight minutes. Chauvin was later charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd.
See more "Blackout Tuesday" social media posts below.
This must end. #WeUseOurVoices #TheShowMustBePaused (@nytchangster/@nytimes)
A post shared by Republic Records (@republicrecords) on
#BlackLivesMatter #BlackoutTuesday #TheShowMustBePaused
A post shared by Paradigm Talent Agency (@paradigmtalentagency) on
June 1, 3:11 p.m. Updated with Spotify and other companies' participation.
This story first appeared on Billboard.com
