20.08.2024: UK Music’s Head of Diversity Eunice Obianagha explores what Government action is needed to support equality, diversity and inclusion in the music industry. 

Having a more diverse and inclusive music industry is one of the sector’s top priorities. By bringing together a wider range of perspectives, experiences, and ideas, we hope to help to foster greater innovation and creativity. Music should be welcoming to all. However, according to the 2023 Musicians’ Census which draws on data from almost 6,000 musicians, 62% of respondents have either experienced or witnessed some form of discrimination. Recent studies, including those from Black Lives in Music and Attitude is Everything, indicate that barriers and discrimination exist in music, across the intersections of gender, ethnicity, disability, and socio-economic status.

This is unacceptable, and we are committed to taking further action as demonstrated by our ten-point plan to boost diversity and our Five P’s action plan.

However, there is more to be done, and the Government can play a pivotal role in helping us achieve our ambitions. Improvements can be made to general policy and programmes such as access to work and Universal Credit, but targeted approaches can be made too. If our music industry is to tell the story of modern-day Britain, then it needs to be representative of modern-day Britain too.

These policies (below) were developed in consultation with the UK Music Diversity Taskforce, who were able to share their knowledge with the UK Music team, ensuring that diversity was included in the manifesto and that the asks would make a real-world impact. This process shows the benefit of incorporating diversity into every aspect of the organisation.

The Government should:

Extend the limitation period for discrimination or harassment claims under the Equality Act 2010 from three months to six months.

Currently, individuals have only three months to make a claim regarding discrimination or harassment. Increasing this to six months provides a more reasonable timeframe for affected individuals to seek justice and protection under the law. Alongside other reforms to the Equality Act 2010, this extension will ensure that freelancers enjoy the same protections as other employees.

Mandate reporting of ethnicity and disability pay gap data while reducing the threshold to include companies with over 50 employees.

Under the Equality Act 2010, gender pay gap reporting is only mandatory for organisations with 250 or more employees. The Act should be amended by reducing this threshold and extending it to include ethnicity or disability pay gap data to help create more inclusive and equitable workplaces.

Commission an independent review into how the Metropolitan Police and local authorities react and respond to Black music events.

The Metropolitan Police’s Form 696 targeted Black artists and music fans, putting pressure on venues to cancel shows based on the genre or ethnicity of the artist. Form 696 was scrapped in 2019, but the new ‘voluntary partnership approach’ serves as its equivalent in all but name. The Government should work with the Metropolitan Police and other responsible authorities to revise its approach, and a national independent review into this matter is needed.

Review the impact of Access to Work on those working in the music industry with a view to ensuring claimants receive support within four weeks.

The Access to Work scheme supports disabled individuals in finding and retaining employment. Many individuals require support and disability-related accommodations to participate in the music industry or pursue their artistic endeavours. However, lengthy delays and a processing period of up to six months for Access to Work claims are increasingly common and must be rectified.

Read UK Music’s Manifesto for Music to find out more about what UK Music is calling for.

Discover more about UK Music’s work on diversity and inclusion here.