Warner Music, Sony and BMG cancel Grammy events due to LA wildfires

Warner Music Group, Sony Music and BMG have confirmed they are canceling their Grammy Week events due to wildfires still raging in Los Angeles, a company representative confirmed to Variety. The moves come a day after Universal made a similar announcement.

Sources say Warner’s decision was made over the weekend, when WMG committed $1 million to relief efforts, through the WMG/Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund. A representative for Sony Music confirms that the decision was made Tuesday morning to cancel all Grammy Week events and redirect the company’s efforts and funds to focus on local relief efforts.

Universal Music announced Monday that its annual showcase (which was also canceled last year due to company layoffs) and Grammy afterparty were canceled this year, just hours after the Recording Academy released a statement saying the Grammy ceremony would go ahead. as scheduled on Sunday, February 2 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

On Monday, the Resonator Awards, which honor female producers and engineers, and Milk and Honey Management both announced that their Grammy Week events were postponed.

The Recording Academy released a statement Monday saying the show will go ahead as planned, although the wave of postponements and cancellations will pose challenges.

“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles,” Recording Academy and MusiCares CEO Harvey Mason Jr. and board chair Tammy Hurt said in the release. “This city is our home and we mourn the loss of life and destruction that has been inflicted on it in recent days.

“In close coordination with local authorities to ensure public safety and responsible use of area resources, the 67th Grammy Awards broadcast on CBS on February 2 will proceed as planned,” they continued.

“This year’s show, however, will have a renewed meaning: raising additional funds to support wildfire relief efforts and honoring the courage and dedication of first responders who risk their lives to protect ours.”

Sources say Variety that California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass supported the Academy’s decision, which was made in consultation with the city’s fire department.

Adding to the Academy’s challenges is the fact that postponing an event of the magnitude of the Grammys is no small feat. Not only does the show take months of preparation and rehearsal, but it also requires a nearly two-week lockout at a major arena that is home to three major sports teams, the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Kings. Angeles of the NHL, who are both in season, and the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, who kick off their next season in May. The Grammys need to be held at a major venue of this size, because ticket sales make up a huge percentage of its annual revenue, as well as the network television broadcast — which will be CBS until 2027, when Disney takes over. relay.

Moving the Grammys to another city, as was the case in 2022 during the Omicron variant phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, is equally difficult because those arenas typically also have sports franchises. The 2022 Grammys took place at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. However, it seems unlikely that this year’s show will take place in another city due to the negative message such a move would send to Los Angeles in the wake of the fires.

Variety we will know more about the situation as it develops.