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| K-pop titan BTS. EPA-Yonhap |
By Dong Sun-hwa
K-pop phenomenon BTS and its record label Big Hit Entertainment donated 1.2 billion won ($1 million) to support live concert crew members hit by coronavirus (COVID-19), according to Live Nation, Tuesday.
The stars handed over the cash to the live entertainment company's Crew Nation campaign, launched in March. The money is to give a helping hand to concert staff members, who have been affected by the delay of offline gigs following the pandemic.
The campaign is expected to aid some 1,000 crews and workers, including 70 who were initially set to work for the seven-piece act during its world tour this year. But Big Hit postponed The Map of the Soul tour in April due to the virus.
The amount BTS contributed is one of the largest artist donations raised for the Crew Nation fund since its conception, Live Nation said.
"If it weren't for COVID-19, we would have been happily touring across the world with many of our live concert crews by now," BTS members were quoted as saying. "We are aware that a lot of communities need help due to COVID-19, and we wanted to support the music industry crews by making a donation. We hope to meet again on stage very soon."
Big Hit's Global CEO Lenzo Yoon was quoted as saying, "It is very unfortunate that the music industry has to go through such a difficult time at the moment. We hope our contribution to Crew Nation will help support many live concert crews around the world."
The seven-piece act ― RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook ― and its management company recently donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc, to help combat racial discrimination.
