Sony Music Group Setting Up $110M Social Justice Fund

Sony Music Group is setting up a $100 million fund for social justice and antiracist initiatives, becoming the latest major music label to provide financial support in response to the death of George Floyd.

The L-A Times reports Sony Music said Friday that it would “immediately begin to donate to organizations that foster equal rights.” However, the New York-based company, whose artists include Beyoncé, Adele, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Khalid, Alicia Keys and Miranda Lambert, did not mention any specific groups that it planned to support. The effort includes contributions from Sony Pictures Entertainment and other divisions of Sony Corp.

The effort came after several prominent artists criticized the music industry’s “Blackout Tuesday” initiative as insufficient. While many prominent music and entertainment figures — the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez — went dark on social media as part of the effort, posting only black squares on their feeds, other artists questioned its impact. The Weeknd called on labels that benefit from the work of black artists to step up with donations. Rapper Lil Nas X suggested on Twitter that advocates post “donation and petitions links on instagram all at the same time instead of pitch black images.”

Sony Music also announced that workers companywide will undergo unconscious-bias training, and that the company will match employee donations to groups working for social justice.

Sony Music’s labels include Arista Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, Legacy Recordings and RCA Records.

The world’s largest recording company, Universal Music Group, announced an initial response that includes a $25-million fund and establishes a task force to accelerate the company’s efforts in inclusion and social justice.

The Santa Monica-based company’s labels include Capitol Music Group, Def Jam Records, Interscope Geffen A&M, Motown and Republic Records, with rosters of such top artists as Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Kanye West, The Weeknd, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish.

The two companies join Warner Music Group, which earlier in the week established a $100 million fund in partnership with the Blavatnik Family Foundation. Warner Music Chief Executive Steve Cooper said the Los Angeles company was “determined to contribute, on a sustained long-term basis, to the effort to bring about real change.”