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Rihanna and Beyoncé called for justice for George Floyd, while Ariana Grande joined protests in LA
The music industry is calling for a “Blackout Tuesday” in response to George Floyd’s death.
All three major record labels have shared a message on social media promising “a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with out community”.
Interscope vowed not to release new music this week, while Apple Music’s Ebro Darden cancelled his radio shows.
Floyd died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, prompting protests in the US and UK.
Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin has been sacked and charged with third-degree murder. He is due to appear in court on Monday.
Taking to Instagram, Rihanna spoke of the “devastation, anger [and] sadness” she has felt since Floyd’s death.
“Watching my people get murdered and lynched day after day pushed me to a heavy place in my heart,” she wrote.
Beyoncé filmed an Instagram video urging fans to sing a petition seeking “justice for George Floyd”.
“We all witnessed his murder in broad daylight…We’re broken and we’re disgusted. We cannot normalise this pain”.
Dr Dre also called for action, saying his “heart is still aching”.
“It felt like that cop had his knee on all of our necks, meaning black men,” he said on Apple Music’s Young Money Radio.
“It’s extremely painful because it keeps going on. It continues to go on and it’s like, ‘What can we do? Or what do we need to do to make this thing stop?'”
Other pop stars, including Ariana Grande, J Cole, Tinashe, Nick Cannon, Yungblud, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes, joined protestors across the US over the weekend.
Skip Twitter post by @anthspears
Ariana Grande is one of the biggest artists in the world. Not only did she use her platform to express her anger and pain towards what’s going on she also participated in the streets with the rest of the protesters 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/XWgayEgfTV
— anth (@anthspears) May 31, 2020
End of Twitter post by @anthspears
Halsey, who took to the streets in Los Angeles, told fans that she and other protestors had been fired upon by police.
“We were peaceful, hands up, not moving, not breaching the line,” she captioned a photograph of police in protective gear.
“They opened fire of rubber bullets and tear gas multiple times on us. citizens who were not provoking them.”
As anger spread through the music community, a message spread on social media calling on the industry to “take an urgent step of action to provoke accountability and change”.
“As gatekeepers of the culture, it’s our responsibility to not only come together to celebrate the wins, but also hold each other up during loss,” reads the statement, which circulated under the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused.
Among those reposting the message were Warner Music Group, Sony/ATV, Universal Music, Motown, Capitol Records, British label Dirty Hit, Eminem’s Shady Records and legendary producer Quincy Jones.
“All of my shows are cancelled,” wrote Apple’s Ebro Darden on his Instagram feed. “I will air replays of conversations with community activists, politicians and revolutionary music.”
Task force
“We stand together with the black community against all forms of racism, bigotry, and violence,” said Columbia Records, which is home to Beyonce, Pharrell Williams, Lil Nas X, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Adele.
“Now, more than ever, we must use our voices to speak up and challenge the injustices all around us.”
“In the words of Dr King, ‘There comes a time when silence is betrayal.’ When you have a responsibility to raise your voice for change. That time has come,” added Universal Music Group on social media.
Univeral’s chairman, Sir Lucian Grainge, also issued a memo to staff laying out plans for a task force, headed by chief counsel Jeff Harleston, to “accelerate our efforts in areas such as inclusion and social justice”.
“We must do more and now is the time to do it – and to do it with an unprecedented sense of urgency,” he wrote.
“Even more importantly, we must commit ourselves not merely for this week, but we must continue that commitment – without let-up – in the months and years ahead.”
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