UK Music highlights need for more black and ethnically diverse employees in top music jobs
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UK Music survey reveals 6.4% of those in top music industry jobs
identify as Black or Black British. Results show 4% of those in
senior jobs identify as Asian or Asian British. Black, Asian &
other ethnic minorities make up 19.9% - one in five - of top music
jobs. UK Music has released new data about the ethnic backgrounds
of those working in the UK music industry - breaking down people’s
ethnicity into groups of Black, Asian and Mixed for the first
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UK Music has released new data about the ethnic backgrounds of those working in the UK music industry - breaking down people’s ethnicity into groups of Black, Asian and Mixed for the first time. The move builds on UK Music’s call last October for the music industry and others to follow the lead of UK Music and its members by dropping the outdated term “BAME” in favour of language that more accurately reflects people’s heritage. UK Music said the sector’s work on equality, diversity and inclusion had successfully boosted representation of Black, Asian, and other ethnic minorities at almost every level. However, UK Music warned the increases in the number of workers from Black, Asian, and other ethnic minority communities joining the industry at entry level were not reflected at more senior levels. The findings are revealed in new analysis of UK Music data about the ethnic make-up of the music industry. The data highlights where more needs to be done to ensure diverse communities are well represented at every level of an industry that sustains almost 200,000 jobs. The call comes as the music industry marks the anniversary of #BlackoutTuesday and the death of George Floyd a year ago, which triggered worldwide protests and urgent demands to tackle racism. The UK Music data from survey respondents revealed the following key points about the make-up of the UK music industry workforce:
A total of 19.9% of those at Senior Level in the music industry identified as Black, Asian, or as from another ethnic minority group. 80.1% identified as White. Overall, 34.6% of respondents at Entry Level identified as Black, Asian, Mixed or from another ethnic minority group - compared to the 65.4% who identified as White. The new data builds on UK Music’s Diversity Report 2020, which revealed 65.4% of respondents at Entry Level identified as White - and 80.1% of respondents at Senior Level identified as White. The release of the latest information follows the publication last year of UK Music’s Ten-Point Plan, developed by our Diversity Taskforce, which sets out a clear way forward to boost diversity and inclusion. UK Music Diversity Taskforce Chair Ammo Talwar MBE said: “This data is really important as it’s the first time that UK Music has broken down different ethnic groups into sub-groups of Black, Asian, and Mixed Race - rather than using that outdated and disrespectful catch-all term ‘BAME’. “It shows the value of dropping the phrase ‘BAME’ when talking about different communities because now we have far more clarity about the different ethnic groups who make up the music industry. “Our UK Music Diversity Taskforce has a clear strategy in our Ten-Point Plan that we hope will lead the way for other organisations and other sectors to adopt. “We are determined to make the urgent changes needed to properly represent and support the communities and audiences we serve.” UK Music Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said: “I know just how hard the industry is working when it comes to equality, diversity and inclusion. These are challenges not just for the music business, but right across society. “For our business to reflect modern Britain and our audiences, we need to keep striving to ensure diversity runs right through every level and sector of our industry.” UK Music Head of Diversity Rachel Bolland said: “This latest data builds on our UK Music Diversity Report 2020 and provides important evidence about the make-up of the music industry. “We hope it will help inform the important work the industry is already doing when it comes to key issues like the ethnicity and gender pay gap.” UK Music Taskforce Deputy Chair Paulette Long OBE said: “This new data gives us a much needed breakdown of career level by ethnic group. We were already aware anecdotally of issues among certain ethnic groups in the industry and this data gives us the evidence of the gaps facing those from Black and other communities, who are trying to make their way in the music industry. The Ten-Point Plan recommended dropping BAME and this data gives us vindication that it was the right thing to do. Next up for the Ten-Point Plan is ethnic pay gap reporting for the sector.” “There remains a systemic inequality that needs to be addressed and we are only at the start of a journey to bring about the change we need. There is a lot of hard work ahead of us that needs to be focused and continuous, in order to get a deeper understanding of underlying issues and really make an impact. Only those committed to this journey will make headway in bringing down those barriers.” UK Music’s Ten-Point Plan was widely welcomed across the creative sector and is already being implemented by UK Music, its members, and the music industry. The Plan included a call for the outdated term “BAME” to be dropped, more transparency around the ethnic and gender pay gap and more diversity on executive bodies and boards (see notes to editors). UK Music’s members have already taken steps to improve the diversity of their boards and executive bodies or have set in place structures to bring about positive change. The PRS Foundation launched its ambitious Power Up initiative to support Black music creators and industry professionals and executives and address anti-Black racism and racial disparities in the music sector. The creation of organisations like the Black Music Coalition and Black Lives In Music are among other positive steps. UK Music and its members are committed to working with and learning from such organisations. ENDS Notes to editors: The new analysis comes from data initially gathered for UK Music’s Workforce Diversity Survey 2020. The survey collated data from across the music business including studios, management agencies, music publishers, major and independent record labels, music licensing companies and the live music sector. This is the first time UK Music’s ethnicity data has been broken down into a more detailed analysis of Black, Asian, Mixed, and other ethnicities in the workforce. A further breakdown regarding other ethnicities was not possible due to the sample size. UK Music use the Office of National Statistics classifications on ethnicity – find out more here:https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/classificationsandstandards/measuringequality/ethnicgroupnationalidentityandreligion Career levels were self-described by those filling out the survey. Office of National Statistics most recent (2011) data on England & Wales population by ethnicity: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/population-of-england-and-wales/latest 22.3% of those that responded to our survey identified as Black, Asian or from another UK minority ethnicity, compared to the Office of National Statistics most recent (2011) data on England & Wales population by ethnicity, which says that 14% identified as Black, Asian or from another UK minority ethnicity. Office of National Statistics most recent (2011) regional data on England & Wales population by ethnicity: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/regional-ethnic-diversity/latest Read about the Ten-Point Plan of UK Music and its Diversity Taskforce here: https://www.ukmusic.org/equality-diversity/ten-point-plan/ Read more about the call by UK Music and its Diversity Taskforce for the use of the terms “BAME” to be ended here: Read our UK Music 2020 Diversity Report here: https://www.ukmusic.org/equality-diversity/uk-music-diversity-report-2020/ UK Music Ethnicity and career level data in full NEW DATA: Data on respondents' careers levels who identified as Black/Black British.
Data on respondents' careers levels who identified as Asian/Asian British.
Data on respondents' careers levels who selected one of the Mixed options in our survey.
Data on respondents' careers levels who identified as a different ethnicity to those outlined in our survey.
PREVIOUSLY RELEASED DATA: Data on respondents' careers levels who identified as White.
Data on respondents' careers levels who identified Black, Asian, Mixed or from a different ethnicity to those outlined in our survey as a total.
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