T-Mobile CEO John Legere says music will resume playing on the street outside a Metro PCS store in Washington DC, which was forced to go silent after complaints from a nearby luxury condo.
Donald Campbell, the owner of the Metro PCS in DC’s Shaw neighborhood for 24 years, told DCist he got a message from T-Mobile to stop playing music through oversized speakers due to a threat of a lawsuit. (T-Mobile acquired Metro PCS in 2012.)
“I’ve looked into this issue myself and the music should NOT stop in D.C.!” Legere said on Twitter.
Legere’s decision follows protests earlier this week and social media support with the #DontMuteDC hashtag. DC mayor Muriel Bowser and other prominent Washingtonians called for the music to resume.
The fracas between the cellphone store and its condo neighbors became a potent symbol. The go-go genre has long been part of the urban soundtrack for many black DC residents, even as the nation’s capital became the most gentrified city (paywall) in the United States.
T-Mobile and Metro PCS “are proud to be part of the Shaw community – the music will go on and our dealer will work with the neighbors to compromise volume,” Legere said in his tweet.