Bravado, Universal Music Group’s merchandise wing and one of the largest music artist merchandisers in the industry, is selling face masks as part of a new charity initiative to support struggling musicians and industry workers amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced on Friday.
The new initiative, called We’ve Got You Covered, started when the music company began giving out free masks to its employees following the start of government-mandated safer at home orders, and It has expanded to selling masks to the general public. Bravado handles merchandise for an extensive roster of musicians that includes Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones, Ariana Grande and many other high-profile Universal Music artists. The masks feature logos from several of those artists, including Grande, Eilish, the Stones, Imagine Dragons, Tupac Shakur, Nas, Justin Bieber, Black Sabbath and Willie Nelson, and will continue to expand.
The masks will be $15 each and are washable and reusable; all of the net proceeds will be donated to foundations supporting musicians through the pandemic, including Help Musicians U.K. and MusiCare’s COVID-19 Relief Fund. The music community has been hit hard through the pandemic, with live music halted across the country and thousands of live entertainment workers out of a job while their venues and events have been axed.
Universal Music had previously set up COVID-19 support before the new announcement. At the end of March, the company launched the All Together Now: Stay Connected Program, which gave donations to the MusiCares and Help Musicians funds. We’ve Got You Covered will also give 50,000 masks to various community service providers across the country, according to the announcement.
“I’m humbled and grateful to work with artists and partners who are passionate and driven to deliver a program that supports those that need it most during this unprecedented time,” Bravado CEO Mat Vlasic said in a statement supplied to Rolling Stone. “This initiative will continue to grow and evolve thanks to the hard work from everyone here at Bravado and UMG along with our artists across the globe.”