R.E.M. Share Benefit EP For Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty & World Press Freedom Day

R.E.M. have released a new EP celebrating their 1981 debut single, Radio Free Europe, and the “OG” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Broadcasting a new signal, the Radio Free Europe 2025 five-track benefit EP features a never-before-released remix by the band’s longtime collaborator, Jacknife Lee. The EP celebrates the 75th anniversary of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and was officially released on the eve of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May.

RFE/RL is an essential resource that provides “uncensored reporting” for people living in extreme censorship in 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. These countries have either banned or haven’t fully established a free press.

In March, the US Agency for Global Media announced its plan to halt grants to RFE/RL as part of a Trump administration decision to cut government spending. Elon Musk previously described the organisation as “just radical left crazy people talking to themselves.”

US funding to the media group was halted despite concerns that Russian exiled journalists would be stranded overseas without legal status and risk deportation to Russia. RFE/RL’s Ukrainian service said it’s been forced to cut back on staff and broadcasts, limiting information delivered to the public.

This week, a federal Judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate $12 million in funding to RFE/RL.

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Radio Free Europe 2025 is on streaming services and available for digital download. A limited-edition 10” orange vinyl is available to pre-order now via the R.E.M. webstore and through independent record stores ahead of its release on Friday, 12 September. Proceeds from vinyl sales will go to RFE/RL. You can pre-order the vinyl here.

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Founding member and lead singer of R.E.M., Michael Stipe, said, “Whether it’s music or a free press – censorship anywhere is a threat to the truth everywhere. On World Press Freedom Day, I’m sending a shout-out to the brave journalists at Radio Free Europe.”

Bassist and founding band member Mike Mills added, “Radio Free Europe’s journalists have been pissing off dictators for 75 years. You know you’re doing your job when you make the right enemies. Happy World Press Freedom Day to the ‘OG’ Radio Free Europe.”

RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said, “To me, R.E.M.’s music has always embodied a celebration of freedom: freedom of expression, lyrics that make us think, and melodies that inspire action. Those are the very aims of our journalists at Radio Free Europe—to inform, inspire, and uphold freedoms often elusive to our audiences.

“We hold people accountable, especially those threatened by the truth. They go to great lengths to silence us - block feeds and websites and even imprison our colleagues.”