Boygenius receives the second annual Universal Music Group x Reverb Amplifier Award

02 February 2024 - Press release

The "Universal Music Group x REVERB Amplifier Award" was created to recognize artists that have shown an outstanding commitment to creating positive change through their music and reach.

 

Universal Music Group and REVERB tonight announced boygenius are the recipients of the second annual Universal Music Group x REVERB Amplifier Award. The Grammy nominated band comprised of Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers, were presented with the award by UMG Chairman and CEO, Sir Lucian Grainge; Interscope Geffen A&M Records CEO and Chairman, John Janick; Universal Music Publishing Group Chairman and CEO, Jody Gerson; and REVERB Co-founder, Adam Gardner at NeueHouse Hollywood during Billboard's annual Power 100 event.

The award, which was introduced last year with inaugural awardee, Billie Eilish, recognizes artists best exemplifying the commitment to, and achievement of, measurable steps to reduce their environmental footprint and support of nonprofit causes through direct fan engagement at shows, online and beyond. It represents the expanded relationship between UMG and REVERB, a leading environmental nonprofit dedicated to working with musicians, festivals, venues, industry leaders and fans to reduce the footprint of music and take action on today's most pressing environmental and social issues.

In presenting the award, Sir Lucian Grainge said, "I wanted to be here to highlight the importance of using our collective power for good.  These three exceptional artists exemplify what that means and we wanted to honor them in this room to inspire all you powerful people to do the same. It's my great honor to present boygenius with the second annual 'Universal Music Group x REVERB Amplifier Award.' This award is in recognition of artists who use their music, their reach and their actions to promote positive change for people and the planet. Julien, Lucy and Phoebe, you have inspired us through your music and your work and we are deeply proud to recognize you tonight."

Receiving this award, boygenius said:
Lucy Dacus said, "We're grateful to be receiving this award but we have the easiest jobs of anyone involved. In addition to PTM Foundation we worked closely with REVERB, The Ally Coalition and Calling All Crows to organize tabling for our fans, educate them about local and national organizations that work to defend LGBTQ+ rights, abortion access and environmental concerns."

Julien Baker said, "We're honored to receive this award and promise not to let us become complacent. We realize it's useful to publicly acknowledge and recommit ourselves to these values.. and to draw attention to causes we care about. It should be important to everyone because it's for everyone's wellbeing.. the perceived scarcity of a persons impact does not increase or diminish your individual responsibility to act each day in a way that protects or makes more equitable the world we inhabit together."

Phoebe Bridgers said, "I know all three of us have been made to feel uncomfortable or unsafe at concerts when we were kids or in work environments later when we were making music ourselves so it was cool to have Calling All Crows to come  and do a demonstration on how to spot and stop sexual harassment and violence whether you see it in the crowd or within your own crew. It's really cool to now extend the power and privilege we have to others. We try to create an environment that we would've benefitted from as kids.  Hopefully someday everyone's doing this and no one is getting awards."

Susan Mazo, UMG's EVP of Corporate Social Responsibility, Events and Special Projects said, "We created the Amplifier Award with our partners at REVERB in 2023 to recognize the meaningful actions of artists. This year, we are proud to celebrate boygenius who chose to use their power to promote positive change by supporting causes important to them and their fans, creating campaigns that greatly impacted people and the planet."

UMG is committed to sustainability both across the company and throughout the music community through direct action fueled by the collective passion and commitment of its employees, artists and fans. As part of that commitment, UMG has partnered with climate action champions REVERB.org and Three Squares Inc. to reduce the environmental impact of our events, create sustainable events standards and continue to take meaningful steps to protect the planet and create an equitable future for generations to come. 

For the second year in a row, UMG's Annual After Party which will coincide with the 66^th Annual Grammy Awards, has continued to implement measures to showcase sustainability in action, from designing for reuse to menu creation. In partnership with LA-based Bruce's Catering, the event's menus are 100% meatless and feature ingredients sourced from several local farms in the region.  The team also works closely to right-size the menu and has a plan in place to donate any excess food to the Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission. 

Environmental management support for the event is being provided by Three Squares Inc., a sustainability consultancy with a division that specializes in designing events to meet the strict international standard for event sustainability management, ISO 20121.  As part of the ISO standard's commitment to continual improvement, event assets were thoughtfully designed for future reuse and any remaining event materials will be donated locally to Los Angeles education organizations. The carbon emissions from the event will be measured and tracked to inform planning decisions for future UMG events.