The Weeknd, Lizzo and John Legend have signed an open letter calling for police budgets to be cut following the death of George Floyd, All Hip Hop reports. The open letter was launched by Patrisse Cullors, one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter and a founding member of the Movement 4 Black Lives (M4BL) and calls for local officials to cut police spending and budgets and instead increase spending on health care, education and community programs.

Consequence of Sound praises K-pop fans for mobilizing on social media for a good cause. Usually, they use social media to support K-pop stars, this week however, they're using their powers to commandeer racist, right-wing social media hashtags like #whitelivesmatter, #bluelivesmatter, and #MAGA. On both Twitter and Instagram, K-pop fans have flooded the aforementioned tags with videos of their favorite K-pop groups (called fancams), GIFs, and memes. The barrage of these posts has, at least for a short time, effectively drowned out posts actually related to the hashtags.

Emma Ruth Rundle leads a mighty pack - Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher, YOB’s Aaron Rieseberg, and Old Man Gloom’s Santos Montano - covering Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill', a strange, serious-funny song; Jack Colwell's 'Conversion Therapy' is a dramatic pop song with a strong message; 'Lovers Fool' is a smooth jazzy rap from Osquello self-produced debut album; Bent Arcana is a supergroup featuring members of Oh Sees, TV on the Radio and others - their first single 'The Gate' goes into prog, kraut-rock, experimental ambient music; Travis were a late Brit-pop band, they still do what they did, but hey, 'A Ghost' is a good song.

The World Health Organisation has issued their latest recommendations on holding mass gatherings during the current coronavirus pandemic advising that governments and local authorities can consider allowing mass gatherings to take place when it is safe to do so, Republic World reports. "Mass gatherings are not merely recreational events; they have important implications on the psychological well-being of large number of individuals (eg religious events), can play an important role in promoting healthy behaviours (eg. sports), provide employment for a great number of people, and could leave a legacy of improved assets or capacities developed as a result of hosting a mass gathering event” - WHO suggests in their latest recommendations. “Since mass gatherings have substantial political, cultural, social, and economic implications, authorities should assess the importance and necessity of an event and consider the option that it may take place, provided all associated public health risks are adequately addressed and mitigated”.

NME has made a compilation of 23 best drill songs from the history of genre. After being pioneered by Chicagoan producer Young Chop in 2012, drill has become rap’s most popular sub-genre. The list covers everything from Chief Keef's 2012 'I Don't Like' to last years' 'Dior' by Pop Smoke.

Reading & Leeds Festival managing director Melvin Benn has proposed an increase in coronavirus testing in order to enable the full re-opening of music venues, NME reports. Benn advocates widespread public use of the NHS COVID-19 App, which aims to automate the process of contact tracing and spark an increase in population testing, as the UK’s leisure industries “cannot operate with the measures that are currently in place”.

Jay-Z has published full-page ads in numerous US newspapers honouring tragic Black Lives Matter icon George Floyd, CNN reports. The ad quotes Martin Luther King's 1965 speech to protesters in Selma, Alabama: "A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right... So we’re going to stand up amid horses... We’re going to stand up right here, amid the billy-clubs... We’re going to stand up amid tear gas!". In similar news, The Weeknd has donated $500,000 to a number of organisations that are committed to racial equality, Variety reports. Killer Mike appeared on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' talking about the same issue, suggesting to white people to "send financial help to some of the organizations... on the ground. Then get your butt down there and help those organizations in the physical" (watch that video here). Speaking broadly about the problem, he added - "what I need white America to do beyond right now is understand that right now is always. It isn't just helping in the now -- it is being a part of fixing it always".

“I am a Yolngu Man from North East Arnhem Land. I am angry. I am scared. I feel every negative emotion that there is to feel about what happened to George Floyd” - Australian hip-hop star Baker Boy wrote in his Instagram post about police violence in the USA. As he wrote, it also happens in the, seemingly, much fairer communities - “I feel these emotions EVERY DAMN DAY... This is my life and I am scared, I have anxiety about going to unknown places like a different cafe from my usual, not to mention the challenge of touring from the fear of racism, that, yes, is still rampant here in Australia too”. He shared advice - "I truly hope your activism goes further than your social media. Activism starts at home, with hard conversations”.

Bandcamp will be donating 100% of its share of sales on Freedom Day to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The music company said that this move is in response to “the ongoing state-sanctioned violence against black people in the US". Bandcamp is also continuing their tradition of revenue waiving day - this Friday (6/5) all the money made from purchases at Bandcamp will go to artists.

On Saturday, at the height of protests over George Floyd's death, hacker group Anonymous has tapped into Chicago Police Department’s radios and played N.W.A.’s 'Fuck Tha Police'. Later, on Sunday evening, somebody blocked the Chicago police scanner by playing Tay Zonday’s song-turned-meme 'Chocolate Rain', too.

Warner Music, the world's third-biggest record company, is to list on the US Nasdaq today, with an evaluation of $13.3bn. It is the first big-name flotations since the coronavirus pandemic hit the world’s financial markets and the largest initial public offering (IPO) of the year. The coronavirus pandemic has failed to dent the streaming revolution - Warner Music’s streaming revenues have risen 12% in April alone, the New York Times reported. Warner delayed the pricing of its initial public offering on Tuesday to avoid the shares being sold on a day the music industry set aside to support protests against police brutality in the U.S., Financial Times reports. The pricing is scheduled for Wednesday morning. Warner has finally announced the pricing of its initial public offering at $25 per share, Music Week reports.

10-year old Nandi Bushell has offered her support of Black Lives Matter with her cover of 'Guerrilla Radio' by the Rage Against the Machine. Bushell played the drums, bass, and guitar for the 1-minute activist performance. A description of the performance on her YouTube channel and social media pages reads, “Solidarity in the Fight to End Racism! #fightracism #blacklivesmatter #enoughisenough".

New York City's Metropolitan Opera has canceled all fall performances due to the lockdown, because "Social distancing and the grand opera just don't go together", as Met's General Manager Peter Gelb said. "Our doctors, our medical advisors agree that as long as social distancing is required, we cannot put on performances here" - he added. The Met is currently hoping to re-open its doors on December 31, 2020.

The US music industry is largely shut down for 24 hours today in memory of George Floyd, and in solidarity with those protesting his death. All the major labels are participating in a day of industry silence along with indie labels, publishers, and distributors. Interscope also announced that it's blacking out its entire release schedule for this Friday, GMA reports. UK radio stations and TV channels have also changed their programmes to mark "Blackout Tuesday", reflecting on George Floyd's death in police custody, BBC reports. BBC Radio 1Xtra is hosting a series of discussions and debates, MTV will go silent for eight minutes (the length of time a white police officer knelt on Mr Floyd's neck), 4 Music will pause its output once an hour throughout the day.

No Signal is a DIY black radio station from the UK that broke through in the middle of lockdown. It was the controversial song clash format NS10v10 that catapulted them into the general consciousness - NS10v10 sees two representatives select 10 songs from opposing artists and battle it out in a round-for-round game of strategy and timing. The first one was 50 Cent vs. Drake. Gal Dem talked to women behind it.

Snoop Dogg recently signed a major endorsement deal with British food delivery Just Eats remixing their jingle, which many of their patrons found to be extremely annoying. Snoop twisted the negative feedback into a positive with his banging new update on the jingle, which has been viewed over 7 million times on YouTube alone. Snoop has banked over £5million since he landed the deal

"I feel sorry for emerging bands who would have been promoting debut records this summer. They’ll be hit the hardest" - Foals said after they had to drop their whole tour - "But because we’re more established, we’ve been able to take a year off touring". Still, it hurts -"festivals account for approximately 80% of our income... We’ve been selling fans Foals T-shirts to support the crew. We’ve actually sold 3,000, which helped tide them over for a few months". Chelsea Wolfe described her experience - "canceling the tour was huge. I’d already invested so much money into booking the tour bus, renting the gear, paying for my crew, the flights, a week of their time for rehearsals, the stage dressings. None of that stuff is refundable. I’ve been able to sell some tour merch, which helps. It’s been cool to see fans wanting to support artists. Lots have left comments online saying: 'I was meant to see you play live, but I bought a T-shirt instead'".

Jay-Z has called on Attorney General Keith Ellison to prosecute those responsible for the killing of George Floyd to the “fullest extent of the law”, after reaching out directly to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to talk about the state’s handling of the crime. Jay-Z wrote Justice for Floyd is “just a first step” for healing the country, adding - “I am more determined to fight for justice than any fight my would-be oppressors may have”.

"We're going down a heavily production-oriented route - pyrotechnics, CO2 jets, fireworks, lasers, LED walls, and light shows, which go above and beyond what you would experience in your average club setting" - Steffan Chelland, an events organiser, told BBC about drive-in raves he's hoping to organize in July.

“We were peaceful, hands up, not moving, not breaching the line. [Police] opened fire of rubber bullets and tear gas multiple times on us" - Halsey wrote after she was struck by rubber bullets and shrapnel and gassed while participating in a Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles on Saturday. The wounds did not brake her - “most of us were simply begging them to have empathy, to reconsider humanity and our nations history and future. The frontline did not relent. I will be returning”.

Gunna earned his first chart-topper at the Billboard 200 with 'Wunna', which sold in 110,000 equivalent album units, mostly through streaming - 106,000 units, equating to 143.6 million on-demand streams - 4,000 units are credited to album sales. Other debuts on the chart include The 1975‘s 'Notes on a Conditional Form', which enters this week at No. 4 with a total of 54,000 equivalent album units including 39,000 from album sales, Billboard reports.

Rapper Maserati E arrived in San Quentin state prison in 2017, and after seeing fellow prisoner David Jassy rapping, the two started making an album with other inmates. They wanted “a real opportunity to change the narrative” around incarceration, Rolling Stone reports. There were two rules - no swearing and no glorifying the criminal lifestyle. Their first mixtape is out now. Jassy is out of prison (sentenced reduced partly thanks to that mixtape), but he continues to make music with prisoners still in San Quentin.

The Flaming Lips shared a brand new song 'Flowers of Neptune 6', mellow and pretty, the video features frontman Wayne Coyne in his signature plastic bubble; Canadian secretive cowboy Orville Peck released 'No Glory in the West', an outlaw-country song; Wayne Phoenix released a new video, explicit and moving 'Mood'; Ghanaian Afro-dancehall and reggae star Stonebwoy released 'Le Gba Gbe (Alive)' - a song all about positivity.

Neil Young is creating his own version of bootleg series - the plan is to take famous concert bootlegs, track down the actual master recordings and release them himself via his website. He promises "radically better sound" than on usual bootlegs. Young plans on bootlegging the bootleggers by using artwork from the original release. Frank Zappa did something very similar with his Beat the Boots! series in the early Nineties.

Rapper Killer Mike made an impassioned plea to residents of Atlanta asking them to not vandalize their city while also expressing rage over the murder of George Floyd. “We have to be better than burning down our own homes because if we lose Atlanta, what else we got?” - Killer Mike asked. “It is your duty to not burn your own house down for anger with an enemy. It is your duty to fortify your own house, so that you may be a house of refuge in times of organization. And now is the time to plot, plan, strategize, organize, and mobilize”. He condemned the murder of Floyd, calling for a better system - "we don’t want to see targets burning, we want to see the system that sets up systemic racism, burn to the ground”. Bon Iver's Justin Vernon has shared a similar sentiment: "A police state cannot fix what a police state has broken. Only equal freedom and protection of all citizens can begin to reset the scales of justice”.

Working-from-home-themed playlists have seen a 1,400% increase on Spotify during lockdown, with Fifth Harmony’s single 'Work from Home' the most-added track to those playlists (it's actually about waiting for a lover to come home). Dolly Parton’s '9 to 5', Beethoven, Bach and the pianist Lang Lang’s version of 'Für Elise' follow, as well as 'Circles' by Post Malone, and 'Don’t Start Now' by Dua Lipa. Specific playlists have also seen a surge - Cleaning Kit playlist, a six-hour medley of songs to mop to, has had a 30% increase in streaming, painting-themed playlists are up by 90%, baking by 120%, and gardening playlists up by 430%.

In a simple and effective marketing move, Lady Gaga was delivering her new album 'Chromatica' by herself yesterday. She posted a picture of herself in the driver's seat of a mid-sized transport truck, adding "delivering 'Chromatica' myself to every retailer around the world. In Chromatica time and distance do not exist". Her disco-pop album is out today.

Dropkick Murphys will a host concert today at Boston's Red Sox Fenway Park with no fans in attendance, which marks the first time a musical performance has ever taken place at an empty major U.S. arena, stadium or ballpark. Bruce Springsteen will virtually accompany the band for a Double Play during the performance that's dubbed Streaming Outta Fenway. They'll be playing for an empty stadium, but "it beats playing at home," Dropkick Murphys' lead singer and bassist Ken Casey said. Fans can tune in to the concert on Springsteen's exclusive SiriusXM radio channel 20 E Street Radio, or watch the livestream show for free until May 31.

Indie-folk singer-songwriter Waxahatchee has announced a run of five livestreams where she will play all five of her albums in their entirety. She'll play five virtual sets, one every Monday in June, performing one of her albums in full at each. She will be raising money for her band and crew, but also for indie promoters around the country - "who have been so warm and hospitable to me over the years but are now facing a huge strain on their business". At NoonChorus.com, a $15 per show.

Grimes is preparing a new online exhibition 'Selling Out', where she’ll be selling drawings, prints, photographs, and conceptual pieces, Bloomberg reports. The most notable piece in the collection is a conceptual piece, also called 'Selling Out', which finds Grimes selling part of her soul for the “best offer”. The idea behind it: "'Selling Out' is executed as a contract in which Grimes sells a fraction of her soul, formalizing the idea that every time an artist sells a piece of their art, part of the soul is sold with it".