Black Out Tuesday: music industry plans day of business disruption in solidarity with Black community
'We will not continue to conduct business as usual without regard for Black lives,' say organisers of movement
After a week of nationwide protests in response to the killing of George Floyd by now charged Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, the music industry is hitting pause on business as usual in support of Black Lives Matter protesters and the Black community.
Taking place on Tuesday, June 2, and given the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused, what is now being called Black Out Tuesday was created by Atlantic senior director of marketing Jamila Thomas and former Atlantic executive Brianna Agyemang (now a senior artist campaign manager at Platoon) as a way to disrupt business as usual this week.
"In response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other Black citizens at the hands of police, #TheShowMustBePaused is an initiative created by two Black women in music in observance of the long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard. We will not continue to conduct business as usual without regard for Black lives."
"The music industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry," their statement continues. "An industry that has profited predominantly from Black art. Our mission is to hold the industry at large, including major corporations and their partners who benefit from the efforts, struggles and successes of Black people accountable."
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheShowMustBePaused?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheShowMustBePaused</a> <a href="https://t.co/JHTUG34Ibj">pic.twitter.com/JHTUG34Ibj</a>
—@pausetheshowWhile the site theshowmustbepaused.com suggests ways to mindfully observe the date, labels have started posting what they're going to do specifically on the day.
Warner Music Canada, home of Neon Dreams, Barenaked Ladies and Just John x Dom Dias, posted that its business will "not go on as usual."
The label followed that up with ways others can get involved.
Interscope Records, home to Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Carly Rae Jepsen and Billie Eilish, will refrain from releasing music all week, and will donate to "organizations that help bail out protesters."
San Francisco-based Father/Daughter Records, which counts Partner and Shamir as artists on its roster, has decided not to stay silent, but to take a different approach.
Instead of participating in the "Music Industry Blackout" on Tuesday, we'll use the day to share pertinent information for protestors, bail orgs, resources and reading materials about race/racism, and to uplift the voices of Black artists and people who work in the music industry
—@father_daughterDrake's OVO label has not tied its early June 1 response to Black Out Tuesday, but it did post what actions it would be taking this week.
