Apple Music Joins Music Industry's Blackout Tuesday Awareness Campaign

[MacRumors]

Apple Music has cancelled its Beats 1 radio schedule for Blackout Tuesday and is suggesting that listeners tune in to a radio stream celebrating the best in black music.

Blackout Tuesday is a campaign organized by the music industry to support Black Lives Matter after Minneapolis citizen George Floyd was killed by police in the course of his arrest.

On launching Apple Music, many users on Mac and iOS devices are today being met with a message replacing the usual For You, Browse, and Radio sections, along with a Listen Together button that links to the aforementioned station.

In steadfast support of the Black voices that define music, creativity, and culture, we use ours.

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.

#TheShowMustBePaused
#BlackLivesMatter​

Otherwise, the Apple Music service is operating as usual. Users are still able to access their music library and search the Apple Music catalog.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1267633854933852160

Following the unrest in numerous U.S. cities after last week's killing of George Floyd, Apple CEO Tim Cook on Sunday addressed the pain that many are feeling and urged others to commit "to creating a better, more just world for everyone."

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Music Joins Music Industry's Blackout Tuesday Awareness Campaign

 

[chucker23n1]

On launching Apple Music, many users on Mac and iOS devices are today being met with a message in the Browse and Radio tabs, along with a Listen Together button that links to the aforementioned station.
Otherwise, the Apple Music service is operating as usual. Users are still able to access their music library and search the Apple Music catalog.

I wouldn't call that "operating as usual". You can search for Apple Music playlists and play them that way, but you can't browse them or get suggestions.

I don't mean to be too insensitive to the subject matter, but that's quite a disruption for a $10/mo service (whose client app is already flaky enough as it is). Would it really have hurt to add a little 'x' to close the message and proceed to the regular browsing UI?

(edit)

Or, if disrupting the service like this is by design and a protest statement, I think the message should be clearer. Some fine print at the bottom saying "Your regular Apple Music features like Browse and For You will be back tomorrow.", maybe? Cause right now, it's just not very clear if this is the Music app being janky or a deliberate choice.

 

[MatLane]

I wouldn't call that "operating as usual". You can search for Apple Music playlists and play them that way, but you can't browse them or get suggestions.

I don't mean to be too insensitive to the subject matter, but that's quite a disruption for a $10/mo service (whose client app is already flaky enough as it is). Would it really have hurt to add a little 'x' to close the message and proceed to the regular browsing UI?

Hi Chucker,

I agree with you completely on this. I find this a major disruption. I am in full support but not a fan of the obstructive nature of the 'for you' page at all.

 

[Telos101]

I wouldn't call that "operating as usual". You can search for Apple Music playlists and play them that way, but you can't browse them or get suggestions.

To be fair, you've taken that quote from the article out of context. "Otherwise, Apple Music is operating as usual," is the full sentence, and leads on from the preceding paragraphs which note that the Browse and For You tabs have been replaced by the awareness campaign message. "Otherwise" means "apart from that," or "in all other respects."

Otherwise, I sympathize with your point of view.

 

[FlyGuyDEN]

Oh wow...complaining about a disruption in Apple Music. Imagine if your entire life (or existence) was interrupted by a bad cop due to the color of your skin.

PAY ATTENTION. THE WORLD IS SPEAKING. LISTEN. UP.

 

[coolfactor]

Bravo Apple.

But did Apple Music get it wrong, and then MacRumors repeated it?

"Black Out" is not the same as "Blackout".

How much does it matter? Language has been super important to this movement. Say even the slightest thing wrong, even unintentionally, and you're brutally attacked by the community. Been there, experienced it.

I even ran a social experiment on Twitter where I was constantly receiving negative responses to my innocent, supportive messages. It's understandable... people are very emotional and reactive right now. But as soon as I changed my profile pic to a fictional black cartoon character, suddenly all of the negative responses stopped. This proved to me that my white skin pre-staged their responses, and it was a losing effort from the start. This makes me sad, but I felt a sigh of relief to be able to continue showing support while no longer being labeled as "the guy who could never understand because he's not part of the community".

We are all part of the community, the global community.

 

[chucker23n1]

To be fair, you've taken that quote from the article out of context. "Otherwise, Apple Music is operating as usual," is the full sentence, and leads on from the preceding paragraphs which note that the Browse and For You tabs have been replaced by the awareness campaign message. "Otherwise" means "apart from that," or "in all other respects."

I didn't mean to take anything out of context, but I can see how my post could be read that way.

The article originally didn't mention "For You", which (next to Browse) is how I go through common playlists (New Music Daily and stuff); it said "being met with a message in the Browse and Radio tabs, [..] Otherwise, the ‌Apple Music‌ service is operating as usual." — which, no, not having a functional For You tab isn't "operating as usual" to me.

But it has since been amended to read "the usual For You, Browse, and Radio sections". Which I personally think makes "otherwise operating as usual" a bit… misleading.

Imagine if Google presented you with search results but you could only click the first one, and to get to other results, you need to figure out a better query. The analogy is flawed, but that's a bit what the service feels like right now.

Which, again, hey, if not getting full service for one day is exactly what Apple wants here in order to make a strong statement, I support that, but I think their full-screen banner needs to communicate more clearly.
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Oh wow...complaining about a disruption in Apple Music. Imagine if your entire life (or existence) was interrupted by a bad cop due to the color of your skin.

PAY ATTENTION. THE WORLD IS SPEAKING. LISTEN. UP.

I can complain about a service disruption while still acknowledging that the service disruption may be the appropriate tool for protest. One doesn't exclude the other.

 

[matt_and_187_like_this]

I thought we were trying to get rid of labels, now they're talking of black artists, black creators and black communities.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Except, of course, when those Black communities are in China:

Coronavirus Reveals China's Horrific Racism Against Black People

pjmedia.com

I and many others would take Cook & co a helluva lot more seriously about these sorts of things if only he were more a man of action behind his mighty words and less a slimy opportunist. Brave, brave, Sir Timmy!

 

[Nuvi]

Oh wow...complaining about a disruption in Apple Music. Imagine if your entire life (or existence) was interrupted by a bad cop due to the color of your skin.

PAY ATTENTION. THE WORLD IS SPEAKING. LISTEN. UP.

I perfectly understand the problem and see how its affecting the US. I sympathise but I’m fed up with your crap. The problem in hand is problem within USA aka you as American people are the problem. I live in a country with almost zero gun violence, among the lowest corruption rates in the world, cops that are super nice with minimum of 3-4 years of education and training, free healthcare for all, we live longer than you etc. etc. You know, we should be supper happy with our lives and guess what, we are. Instead of complaining and doing nothing that matters why don’t you face the facts. US is not the centre of the universe. You chose your president and he is making America Great Again. So you like what he has achieved? Just grow up and take responsibility of your own actions. But then again you chose the clown as your representative... otherwise very funny but this world isn’t circus although US begs different.

 

[AdonisSMU]

We love to see it.

 

[Binarymix]

Hmmm it's pride month, is Apple going to make us listen to Scissor Sisters, Elton John and Cher for the rest of the month? (I'm gay, just making a point.)

I'm all about advocacy, and speaking out, but a company shouldn't FORCE its views on others. There should be an opt out, for those not wanting to be involved.

 

[Marco123]

Honestly, I prefer when tech companies stay out of politics.
In only a few days we have new gay pride bands and services being taken over with black lives matter slogans but we’ll raise MacBook Ram prices by double.
I watch and read the news so I’m well aware of what’s happening in the world.

 

[Xenden]

I’m not one for clsss action lawsuits, but I hope there is one for this stunt.

They break the functionality of “For You” and “Browse.” Which I’d argue is how most people find music.

Meaningless stunts do nothing but to show posturing.

Just to emphasize, they are doing this crap with a paid service.

 

[Tech198]

Support it if ya what Apple but don't pull everyone in by force...

I don't mind companies supprting their views on things, but leave others alone, when it's needed

I’m not one for clsss action lawsuits, but I hope there is one for this stunt.

They break the functionality of “For You” and “Browse.” Which I’d argue is how most people find music.

Meaningless stunts do nothing but to show posturing.

Just to emphasize, they are doing this crap with a paid service.

There is enough lawsuits, we don't we to all join the herd.......

 

[[AUT] Thomas]

I very strongly support eqaulity but -and I don't mean to disrespect- when it comes to racism and/or gender discussions all those statements are usually flawed from the ground up... let me fix it:

In steadfast support of the voices that define music, creativity, and culture, we use ours.

This moment calls upon us all to speak and act against racism and injustice of all kinds. We stand in solidarity with communities everywhere.

#TheShowMustBePaused
#AllLivesMatter

The point is, if you want equality you must not differentiate between between skin color or gender. As such mentioning it is already a sign that you differentiate between them in your mind, which is the very basis for inequality.
However, there are some -rare- scenarios in which mentioning it is legit, but quite frankly, in this case it's an independent company that even disrupts their service. What they should have done is something like "we now stand together more than ever" or something along the lines of that and DON'T redesign a paid app for that...

 

[inket]

The powerful tech companies that are doing these stunts are the same companies that caused this. They pander to politicians and give them millions of dollars, shake hands and watch them run the country into the ground.

They create these issues indirectly, then publish statements for good PR.

I would be 100% down for this if it weren't for the hypocrisy, but I'm just left disappointed and without music.

 

[Kabeyun]

Braces for forum outrage and “Timmy” vitriol...

 

[Abazigal]

Didn’t notice this until now. Using the Soor app (a third party Apple Music app) and it appears to still be working as normal.

 

[Spock]

I perfectly understand the problem and see how its affecting the US. I sympathise but I’m fed up with your crap. The problem in hand is problem within USA aka you as American people are the problem. I live in a country with almost zero gun violence, among the lowest corruption rates in the world, cops that are super nice with minimum of 3-4 years of education and training, free healthcare for all, we live longer than you etc. etc. You know, we should be supper happy with our lives and guess what, we are. Instead of complaining and doing nothing that matters why don’t you face the facts. US is not the centre of the universe. You chose your president and he is making America Great Again. So you like what he has achieved? Just grow up and take responsibility of your own actions. But then again you chose the clown as your representative... otherwise very funny but this world isn’t circus although US begs different.

And what magical country would that be?

 

[magicschoolbus]

They stay silent in China when the Chinese government commits atrocities against large groups of people. I guess that is okay. All about the $$.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

The point is, if you want equality you must not differentiate between between skin color or gender.

I think the reason things are different now than with past protests is because this one is less about the race of the victim and more about police brutality. There were five cops who were surrounded by a crowd telling them to stop while the cops calmly spent ten minutes murdering a person in cold blood.

This is about our completely broken checks and balances with our cops - they’re entirely above the law. They break laws on a regular basis (I’d wager 90+% of people have seen a cop break a law at least once in-person) and it’s impossible to hold them accountable.
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I live in a country with almost zero gun violence

There were zero guns involved in this story. The cops murdered their victim with only their bare hands and knees.

I think this is why there is some protesting outside the US for this - the story isn’t about race or guns, it’s about police flaunting the law with impunity and no consequences.

Even when their breaking the law is apparently harmless, they’re still eroding trust. They’re sending the signal to themselves and to everyone else that laws don’t apply to them, until this leads to some apparently thinking it’s okay for them to commit murder.

 

[HobbesInVA]

I didn't mean to take anything out of context, but I can see how my post could be read that way.

The article originally didn't mention "For You", which (next to Browse) is how I go through common playlists (New Music Daily and stuff); it said "being met with a message in the Browse and Radio tabs, [..] Otherwise, the ‌Apple Music‌ service is operating as usual." — which, no, not having a functional For You tab isn't "operating as usual" to me.

But it has since been amended to read "the usual For You, Browse, and Radio sections". Which I personally think makes "otherwise operating as usual" a bit… misleading.

Imagine if Google presented you with search results but you could only click the first one, and to get to other results, you need to figure out a better query. The analogy is flawed, but that's a bit what the service feels like right now.

Which, again, hey, if not getting full service for one day is exactly what Apple wants here in order to make a strong statement, I support that, but I think their full-screen banner needs to communicate more clearly.
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I can complain about a service disruption while still acknowledging that the service disruption may be the appropriate tool for protest. One doesn't exclude the other.

To add on...The end-user can't see his/her music history. I understand the point Apple is trying to make but enable the functionality for me to close out the message and resume the normal UI. Apple - Please don't force this on me. I would like just one place where I can listen to music and take a break from the news and drama associated with this terrible event. I've honestly considered cancelling my sub to Apple Music over this. Apple - stay out of politics and focus on fixing the bugs/defects in your H/W and S/W.

 

[Herrpod]

Doesn’t go far enough. In honor of President Bunkerboy, they should create a “music to enjoy whilst hiding in a bunker with the lights off” playlist. Also their AI that recommends music should look at your play history and immediately ban anyone who is obviously white for a day. Looking at you, Phish heads. Or play ****The Police whenever someone chooses Proud To Be An American.

 

[Ethosik]

Oh wow...complaining about a disruption in Apple Music. Imagine if your entire life (or existence) was interrupted by a bad cop due to the color of your skin.

PAY ATTENTION. THE WORLD IS SPEAKING. LISTEN. UP.

I really find it insulting and inappropriate to block features for paying customers. Regardless of what is going on in the world, people listen to music to relax. Being bombarded with this issue 24/7 is not good for several people's mental health that is already suffering from covid's social distancing.