The year started with a swirl of head-spinning national events.
In January, Donald Trump was again sworn in as president, a moment that, among many other sweeping changes, ramped up legislative attacks on transgender rights; diversity, equity and inclusion; immigration; and the environment across the country. The inauguration occurred as areas of Los Angeles still smoldered from wildfires that had decimated entire neighborhoods in the first few days of 2025.
On Feb. 1, the Grammy Awards opened with a tribute to L.A. during which a supergroup including John Legend, Sheryl Crowe, St. Vincent and Dawes (the rock band’s Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith had just lost their homes in the fires) performed “I Love L.A.” During the broadcast, Alicia Keys addressed the attacks on DEI by telling the world that it is “not a threat. It’s a gift.” Shakira noted the current immigration policy while accepting her award for best Latin pop album, saying, “Latinos, we are an unstoppable force. I will not tire of fighting with them and for them.”
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Lady Gaga and Charli xcx both advocated for trans rights, as did Chappell Roan, who during a red carpet interview with GLAAD said, “It’s brutal right now, but trans people have always existed and they will forever exist. They will never, no matter what happens, take trans joy away. That has to be protected more than anything.”
This proclamation wasn’t just lip service. As the issues presented at the start of the year became more urgent throughout 2025, Roan was among many members of the music community putting time and money behind philanthropic causes.
In October, Roan announced the launch of the Midwest Princess Project, which she described as “an organization we’ve launched to provide support and needed resources for trans youth and LGBTQ+ communities.” The foundation invited local trans rights organizations to Roan’s Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things pop-up shows, with each one splitting the money raised per event. (The eight-date tour played three cities.) At the end of the run, Roan announced the foundation had raised $400,000 to support trans youth.
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As for the L.A. wildfires, thousands of industry members stepped up to help those affected, with one initiative started by a veteran music publicist who shared a spreadsheet with GoFundMe links that ultimately raised more than $13 million for members of the community who’d lost their homes. “It’s so hard to leave thousands of people off this [music business] list,” the publicist, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Billboard in January. “But it lets everyone start with their community.”
The Grammys’ philanthropic division, MusiCares, also pledged $1 million in fire relief aid, with the star-studded FireAid benefit concert in January — which featured artists including Gaga, Sting, Peso Pluma and No Doubt performing at a pair of L.A. venues — raising over $100 million. (While FireAid organizers were accused of misallocating funds, an investigation ultimately found no evidence of misuse.)
Among the many donations by artists and organizations, The Weeknd gave $1 million toward fire relief. Then, in October, he donated another $350,000 from his XO Humanitarian Fund to relief efforts in Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. And over the summer, a host of artists contributed to assistance efforts after severe flooding in Texas in July, with George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Parker McCollum, Robert Earl Keen and other country acts performing benefit shows following the tragedy that killed more than 130 people.
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In a year that’s often been mentally challenging on collective and personal levels, Noah Kahan’s The Busyhead Project expanded its work in granting wider access to mental health care. The initiative operates by donating money to local nonprofits — which have included L.A. mental health services provider Didi Hirsch, Nashville’s youth-oriented Oasis Center and Spectrum Youth & Family Services in Burlington, Vt. — that provide shelter, food and counseling to young people.
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In September, Kahan and his team debuted Fairs & Folkways, a two-day golf tournament and benefit concert. Then, in November, he performed another benefit show in Boston that raised $1.5 million for The Busyhead Project and the Red Sox Foundation. (This money comes on top of the $4.5 million raised by The Busyhead Project since its 2023 launch.)
Meanwhile, the industry put substantial effort into environmental protection. In April, the second Music Sustainability Summit in L.A. brought together hundreds of professionals for discussions about environmentally progressive approaches to concert waste management, transportation, merchandise and other key industry areas. “Let’s be honest: This work is only getting more important as some political forces pull back from climate commitments and even try to undermine environmental progress,” Music Sustainability Alliance co-founder and CEO Amy Morrison said at the conference. “It’s falling on industries like ours to step up and lead.”
Among those who did just that was Billie Eilish, who remained an environmental champion this year. In October, it was announced that the pop star raised $11.5 million for organizations addressing food insecurity and climate change during her Hit Me Hard and Soft world tour. The announcement was made at the same event where Eilish memorably called on billionaires “to give your money away, shorties,” a statement that generated global support. The tour also delivered initiatives like upcycled merch and plant-based menus to crowds in 18 countries.
Eilish also helped sponsor members from Support + Feed — an organization created by environmental activist Maggie Baird, Eilish’s mother, that provides plant-based meals to people in need — to provide educational resources at shows by artists who don’t yet have the revenue to host such groups themselves.
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“I think it’s important that we reach down,” Baird told Billboard in November. To this end, Baird also worked with Universal Music Group’s merch and branding division, Bravado, to make Eilish’s offerings more environmentally friendly and consulted on a project that sent 400,000 unused items from Nashville to Morocco, where the deadstock was transformed into yarn for new merch pieces.
The general consensus among those taking action this year was that not helping was not an option. “It’s a very intense time,” Baird told Billboard, speaking to the often fraught state of the world in 2025, “but there are so many people doing great things.”
