UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce is calling on the music industry
to dump the “outdated and offensive” term BAME as part of its
drive to boost diversity and inclusion in the music industry.
The demand comes ahead of the publication later this month
(October) of UK Music’s industry-leading report into diversity
across the UK music industry, which will launch the Taskforce’s
ground-breaking Ten-Point Plan.
The move to drop the term is supported by UK Music, which
is the collective voice of the UK music industry, and all UK
Music members.
BAME stands for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic. It does
not relate to country origin or affiliation.
UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce is spearheading calls to
ditch the widely used term which is seen as misleading and
inappropriate by many, particularly those from diverse
communities.
Following wide-ranging discussions across the music
industry and after holding a series of focus groups, the
Diversity Taskforce agreed to push for the term “BAME” to be no
longer used.
The recommendation to end the use of the acronym is a key
part of a new and wide-ranging Ten-Point Plan to boost diversity
and inclusion in the music industry, which has been agreed by UK
Music’s members.
The Taskforce hopes that ending the use of the term, seen
as dehumanising by many, is a way of acknowledge the unique
experiences of people from different ethnic backgrounds and that
the move will pave the way for greater discussion and insight in
the future.
UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce Chair Ammo Talwar MBE says
change was urgently needed following a year where the issue of
race had been brought into sharp focus by the death of George
Floyd in the States and the Black Lives Matter protests across
the globe.
Ammo Talwar MBE said:
“Our report on workforce diversity in the music industry
highlights where positive progress is being made, but also where
more strategic long-term work and investment is urgently
needed.
“There is now an unstoppable momentum for change at pace to
rapidly improve diversity in the music business and across
society.
“One key change we want to see is the end of the use of a
term which is outdated and offensive to many people from Black,
Asian and other diverse communities.
“It is a term that is often used in reports and campaigns,
but it’s not relevant in today’s modern music industry and jars
with many in diverse communities.
“I have had many conversations with people in the music
industry who want to see the end of an acronym which works
against the sense of community and common purpose that we are all
working so hard to build in the music industry and across
society.
“Our UK Music Taskforce, with the support of many of our
partners in the music industry, want the term consigned to the
dustbin of history. It’s a key step on the path to an inclusive,
welcoming culture that we all want to foster.
“If there is a need to refer to people’s heritage, it is
far better to use a word like ‘Black’, ‘Asian’ or something more
specific - rather than a careless catch-all acronym.
“Our diversity is the source of our greatest strength in
the music industry. However, we need to bring about further
change to ensure our world-leading industry is as diverse and
inclusive as possible.”
