• UK Music Diversity Report finds representation of Black, Asian and ethnic minorities & women up at almost every level.

• Music industry showing huge increase in women and those from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities entering the industry since 2016.

• Despite improvements, more work still needed to support women and those from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities at senior level.

• UK Music Diversity Taskforce ground-breaking Ten-Point Plan lays out a clear roadmap for change.

UK Music today reveals the findings of its 2020 Workforce Diversity Survey in its UK Music Diversity Report. It also unveils a bold Ten-Point Plan to put the music business “front and centre” of the drive to tackle racism and boost diversity in Britain.

Since its launch in 2016, the globally respected survey tracks progress to boost diversity and inclusion in the UK’s music industry that contributes £5.2 billion a year to the UK economy and sustains 190,000 jobs.

Among the key findings of the 2020 Music Industry Workforce Diversity Survey are:

• Representation of Black, Asian and other ethnic minorities among those aged 16-24 in the music industry stands at record 30.6% - up from 25.9% in 2018.

• Proportion of women increases from 45.3% in 2016 to new high of 49.6% in 2020.
Number of people from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities at entry-level rises from 23.2% in 2018 to new high of 34.6% in 2020.

• Number of women in the 45-64 age group drops from 38.7% in 2018 to 35% in 2020.

• Representation of Black, Asian and other ethnic minorities at senior executive levels rises from 17.9% in 2018 to new high of 19.9% - but that means they fill just one in five senior posts.

• The survey findings from UK Music - the collective voice of the UK music industry - come in the wake of a year of action, triggered by the death of George Floyd and the protests in support of Black Lives Matter.

They follow a concerted campaign in the music industry to reset itself to better support the black community with events such as #BlackoutTuesday. The results will also inform industry initiatives to build on the work that followed the #MeToo campaign to highlight sexual abuse and harassment.

The survey collates 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.

The findings of the survey give the music industry, Government and other stakeholders an unparalleled insight into where improvements are needed regarding diversity and inclusion - and highlights where positive change is already under way.

The survey is overseen by UK Music’s Diversity Task force which has worked since it was established in 2015 to boost inclusion and diversity across the industry.

The survey reveals the music industry continues to make good progress on improving diversity and the work done to boost inclusion in the four years since the surveys started is paying off.

However, more work is needed and the urgent need for faster change has driven the creation of UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce’s Ten-Point Plan, led by its chair Ammo Talwar MBE and Deputy Chair Paulette Long OBE.

There have been great improvements at entry level for both women and Black, Asian and ethnic minority representation. However, the results show that more needs to be done to improve representation and retention of both women and Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities at senior levels and among older age groups of those working in the industry.

This year, a record 3,670 people working in the music industry took part in UK Music’s survey. The survey results are published every two years.

The survey findings informed the work carried out this year by UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce which worked collaboratively with music industry leaders and UK Music members to draw up its new groundbreaking Ten-Point Plan.

The Ten-Point plan is outlined below:

• Urban classification to be replaced in all reports and communications - either by genre such as Soul or Rap; UK Music members will commit to support those who wish to use the term “black music”. Members to stop using the acronym BAME - use Black, Asian or ethnic minority background rather than acronym.

• UK Music members to compile a database of persons accountable & responsible for diversity across organisation.

• UK Music members to commit and spend an allocated amount of their annual recruitment budget to ensure a diverse candidate pool.

• UK Music members to allocate a certain amount of their annual training budget on a 12-month diversity Continuing Professional Development / training programme to ensure fair career opportunities for all.

• UK Music members to allocate budget and implement a programme to increase diverse representation in middle and senior management.

• UK Music members to help UK Music implement better transparency around Gender and Ethnic pay gap - move towards lower reporting rate of 50+ employees.

• Each UK Music member to identify a socially engaged organisation whose work relates to gender or race whom they can invest in on a long term basis.

• Each UK Music member to develop diversity policies and internally set diversity targets for core staff. Targets to be published & reported to UK Music and updated annually in order to assess progress. Member bodies to promote diversity and inclusion to partners and stakeholders ensuring industry standards are met.

• UK Music members to amplify their work with UK Music Diversity Taskforce to increase the response rate and ultimately the data collected in the Biennial UK Music Workforce. Diversity Survey with both their own employees and membership. Aim to have 80% of core staff respond to next survey.

• Each UK Music members to work towards increasing diversity on its executive bodies and boards - 30% diverse (race) and 50% (gender). Progress towards these goals is to be reported to UK Music as part of annual progress audit. [see notes to editors]

The Ten-Point Plan was devised following widespread consultation by members of the UK Music Taskforce with stakeholders right across the music industry, as well as an analysis of the survey data. A series of focus groups were also held to gauge opinion.

UK Music Diversity Taskforce Chair Ammo Talwar MBE said:

“Against a backdrop of global change the Diversity Taskforce has been carefully listening, challenging and working behind the scenes to help shape a transformational and game-changing Ten-Point Plan.

“This plan is data driven, evidence based with metrics and lived experience. It’s the accumulation of nine months’ work across the whole music industry to support yet hold the industry to account.

“No tokenistic statements, no short-term wins but a truly collaborative long term plan that reboots the sector and ensures diversity is front and centre of all major decisions.”

UK Music Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said:

“As an industry, we are united in our determination to lead the way on improving diversity and inclusion in our sector and across society.

“This report consists of a frank and candid analysis of the current situation our industry faces, and a bold and ambitious Ten-Point Plan for how to achieve the positive change we all want to see. It’s relevant not just to the music industry, but to organisations everywhere.

“If our music industry is to tell the story of modern-day Britain, then it needs to look like modern-day Britain too. This ground-breaking report is an important step towards achieving that.”

UK Music Head of Diversity Rachel Bolland said:

“We have listened to diverse communities and worked with the Diversity Taskforce to change our language and approach to the Diversity Report and have produced our most comprehensive report to date.

“Focus groups allowed us to listen to the lived experiences of people in our industry and helped to frame the survey questions and the content of the report. We are committed to listening and adapting moving forward.”

UK Music Taskforce Deputy Chair Paulette Long OBE said:

“The last four and a half years has seen our Diversity Taskforce lead the way with a survey giving evidence of issues that needed highlighting, and introducing a Ten-Point Plan to address and rectify some of the underlying obstacles.

“It’s good to see industry organisations review and reset imbalances on their boards, but I am still wary of ‘knee jerk’ reactions and want to task industry gatekeepers to look towards making long lasting systemic changes. Let us resolve to never turn back.”

Read the UK Music Diversity Report here:
https://bit.ly/3mpWy0i