Music Industry Calls for ‘Blackout Tuesday’ After George Floyd’s Death

The music industry is standing in solidarity after the death of George Floyd, who was fatally restrained by Minneapolis police, with a “Blackout Tuesday” initiative.

Atlantic Records’ senior director of marketing, Jamila Thomas and Platoon’s senior artist campaign manager, Brianna Agyemang, are behind the blackout, which is also circulating on social media as #TheShowMustBePaused. The blackout calls for the music industry to stop operations on Tuesday, June 2, to bring awareness to the police brutality and racial injustice in the U.S.

“The music industry is a multibillion dollar industry. An industry that has profited predominantly from black art,” reads a statement on the initiative’s web site. “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. To that end, it is the obligation of these entities to protect and empower the black community that have made them disproportionately wealthy in ways that are measurable and transparent.”

“Blackout Tuesday” has received support from major record labels, including Interscope Records, Def Jam Recordings, Warner Records, Sony Music Entertainment, Capitol Records and Columbia Records, among others.

“This is not just a 24-hour initiative,” the statement continued. “We are and will be in this fight for the long haul. We are tired and can’t change things alone.”

The initiative is a response to the widespread protests that have broken out across the country since Floyd died under police custody on May 25 when he was held to the ground by the knee of a police officer.

Read more here:

Riots, Looting Amid Protests Upend National Return to Normalcy

L.A. George Floyd Protests Lead to Looting of Luxury Retail 

L.A. Protests Cause Rodeo Drive, Luxury Retail to Shut Down

WATCH: How the Fashion Industry Is Fighting the Coronavirus