Apple Music joins Black Out Tuesday to support awareness campaign

Apple has replaced its Apple Music front page with a message calling for support against racism, and has cancelled its regular Beats 1 schedule, as it joins in with the music industry's Black Out Tuesday.

Apple Music users in at least the US and the UK are being shown a message in place of the usual selection of music art, as Apple joins in with Black Out Tuesday. While all of the Apple Music controls and options are still available, the front page now displays text supporting the campaign.

"In steadfast support of the Black voices that define music, creativity, and culture, we use ours," says Apple. "This moment calls upon us all to speak and act against racism and injustice of all kinds. We stand in solidarity with Black communities everywhere."

The message concludes with the hashtags #TheShowMustBePaused and #BlackLivesMatter, plus a Listen Together button. Clicking that keeps the message on screen but streams a specially revised Beats 1 show which is playing a curated selection of the best in black music.

Apple announced the move with a tweet saying that the company was going to use today and this campaign to "reflect and plan actions to support Black artists, Black creators, and Black communities."

Black Out Tuesday is a music industry-wide campaign in response to the murder of George Floyd, and many others. Its creators say the move is "not just a 24-hour initiative," but instead the start of a long campaign against racism and injustice.

As well as this online campaign, protests have been held across the country. During the protests against the murder, Apple Stores have been targeted by opportunists who have used the situation to break into multiple stores.