Music industry calls for Black Out Tuesday amid unrest
The music industry is planning to turn off the music and hold a day to reflect and implement change in response to the death of George Floyd and the killings of other black people.
Several top record labels organized Black Out Tuesday as violent protests erupted around the world sparked by Floyd’s death as well as the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Music-based companies Live Nation and TikTok, as well as the Recording Academy, posted to social media that it planned to support and stand with the black community.
“On Tuesday June 2nd, Columbia Records will observe ‘Black Out Tuesday,’” the Sony label home to Beyoncé, Bob Dylan, Adele and John Legend said in a statement. “This is not a day off. Instead, this is a day to reflect and figure out ways to move forward in solidarity.”
“We continue to stand with the Black community, our staff, artists, and peers in the music industry,” the company continued. “Perhaps with the music off, we can truly listen.”
Others that have joined Black Out Tuesday include the Sony imprints RCA Records and Epic Records; the Universal Music Group divisions Republic Records, Def Jam, UMG Nashville, Capitol Records and Island Records; and the Warner Music Group imprints Atlantic and Warner Records. Smaller, independent labels as well as music publishing companies and management firms have also signed on.