Jeff Tweedy pledges percentage of songwriting royalties to organisations working for racial justice

Tweedy has shared a statement announcing that he'll be donating five percent of his total songwriting royalties to organisations working towards racial justice, and also urged his peers and industry leaders to do the same.

The Wilco vocalist writes, "The modern music industry is built almost entirely on Black art. The wealth that rightfully belonged to Black artists was stolen outright and to this day continues to grow outside their communities."

"As an individual I have recognised the unfairness of the life I live in relation to the deprivation of people whose work mine is just a shadow of," Tweedy continues. "I've tried to compensate for those inequities in both my public and private life. It hasn't been enough."

He adds, "What I propose going forward is a program that allows songwriters and musicians to direct a percentage of their ‘writer’s share’ revenue to organisations that assist and support Black communities."

Tweedy reveals that his five percent of songwriting royalties will be donated to Movement for Black Lives, Black Women's Blueprint, and other organisations.

He closes his statement by writing, "To BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, and all other organizations that collect and disburse songwriter’s royalties, I ask you to please investigate a way to implement such a program. To industry leaders: please join me in forming a coalition. My small contribution alone is a sincere but insufficient gesture. Hundreds of us joining together could provide some tremendous relief. Thousands of us committing to a reparations initiative could change our business and the world we live in. Black Lives Matter. Thank you."

View this post on Instagram

A statement from Jeff Tweedy.

A post shared by Wilco (@wilco) on Jun 18, 2020 at 12:14pm PDT