Music industry to stand in solidarity for June 2 'Black Out Tuesday'—#TheShowMustBePaused

In wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other black citizens, the music industry has called for a Black Out Tuesday as a show of solidarity in the fight against racial justice and equality. The original message that circulated on Friday, May 29 asks for an industry-wide participation in the “urgent step of action to provoke accountability and change.” Several global music companies have since announced their plans to join in the initiative and observe Tuesday, June 2 as “a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with our community.”

UMG, WMG, Atlantic Records, Capitol Music Group, Columbia Records, and Kobalt are just a few leading players that have pledged their intent to observe the blackout. Several companies will suspend normal business with labels like Interscope and Atlantic having vowed not to release new music this week. Other industry members plan to use their platform to donate and support actionable change.

“On Black Out Tuesday, Spotify will stand with our friends, partners, artists and creators in the fight against racism, injustice and inequity through a variety of activities, both on platform and off. Our employees are being encouraged to disconnect to show solidarity with and learn from the experiences of the Black community. We’re also using our platform to amplify Black voices and demonstrate our commitment to racial equity. Spotify stands with the Black community and we hope that these and other actions will help usher in positive change,” stated Spotify.

Created by Atlantic Senior Director of Marketing Jamila Thomas and Platoon Senior Artist Campaign Manager Brianna Agyemang, the initiative will be used with the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused. Learn more about the initiative and actions to take on the website here. Follow on Instagram @theshowmustbepaused and on Twitter @pausetheshow for updates and announcements.

pic.twitter.com/fZvZPw3tLD

— Columbia Records (@ColumbiaRecords) May 31, 2020

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A post shared by Interscope Records (@interscope) on May 31, 2020 at 10:57am PDT

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BLACK LIVES MATTER. #THESHOWMUSTBEPAUSED

A post shared by Michelle Jubelirer (@michellejubelirer) on May 30, 2020 at 7:27pm PDT

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#TheShowMustBePaused

A post shared by Universal Music Publishing (@umpg) on May 31, 2020 at 6:32pm PDT

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This must end. #WeUseOurVoices #TheShowMustBePaused (📸 @nytchangster/@nytimes)

A post shared by Republic Records (@republicrecords) on May 30, 2020 at 6:45pm PDT

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A post shared by Atlantic Records (@atlanticrecords) on May 30, 2020 at 2:50pm PDT

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Say my name.

A post shared by Warner Music (@warnermusic) on May 29, 2020 at 9:46am PDT

SILENCE IS NOT AN OPTION #BLACKLIVESMATTER #THESHOWMUSTBEPAUSED pic.twitter.com/YEG40Ym8KR

— Virgin EMI Records (@VirginEMI) May 31, 2020

H/T: MBW