Musicians and major labels are calling for a world-wide shut down on Tuesday the 2nd of June
On Thursday May 25th three Minnesota police officers arrested and killed an unarmed black man by suffocation, kicking off an uproar of international public outrage and riots. George Floyd, a close friend of ex-NBA star Stephen Jackson, is one of a series of recent high-profile murders of black men and women in the United States by the hands of overt police violence.
Infuriated by the senselessness of the racial bias against black lives, the music world has responded by calling for a symbolic industry-wide “walk-out” of work on Tuesday the 2nd of June. Rallying around the hashtag #TheShowMustBeStopped on Instagram and other social media platforms, it calls for all musicians and labels to disconnect from work and reconnect with their communities, in solidarity with the families of all those affected by bigotry, injustice and race-related violence.
Columbia Records led the charge, calling on the industry’s responsibility as “gatekeepers of the culture” and being quickly followed by Sony Music, Motown, DefJam, Interscope Records, UMPG, Kobalt, Shelter, and many more.
“Blackout Tuesday” aims to raise awareness of this important issue by “turning off the music and making us truly listen”. You can join the movement and participate online, here are some of the label’s Instagrams to follow, #pausetheshow:
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