Nearly a week after Warner Music Group (WMG) announced its $100 million fund to support social justice causes, and day after the announcement of Universal Music Group’s $25 million “Change Fund,” Sony Music Group (SMG) has joined in on supporting activism, and has created a $100 million fund to support social justice causes. This recent fund follows initiatives set by other Sony company divisions, including their movie division.
“Racial injustice is a global issue that affects our artists, songwriters, our people and of course society at large,” SMG Chairman and CEO Rob Stringer explained. “We stand against discrimination everywhere and we will take action accordingly with our community fully involved in effectively using these funds.”
These initiatives follow the calls of many prominent music artists including Tegan and Sara, Jack Antonoff and The Weeknd, in addition to the #BlackOutTuesday event. The latter event was music industry wide protest, taken by numerous prominent record labels including WMG and SMG, in response to the death of George Floyd, who had passed away after fired Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee down on his neck, while four other police officers assisted or stood by. Chauvin was eventually arrested and and is facing charges for the 2nd degree murder of Floyd.
Several prominent musicians also took part in the black out, and spoke on the killing of George Floyd, including DIIV, Amanda Palmer and Chuck D. Prominent hip hop artists such as J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar both joined in on the protests in their respective hometowns.
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