British industry body UK Music has published the results of its latest Music Industry Workforce Diversity Survey – the second such report, following its original launch in 2016.
Based on a survey of nearly 3,000 people within the British music industry, the study has some positive findings. BAME (Black, Asian, minority ethnic) representation in the UK industry has grown from 15.6% in 2016 to 17.8% in 2018, while the proportion of women in the industry has grown from 45.3% to 49.1%. Among 16-24 year-olds, those figures are higher too: 25.9% for BAME representation and 65.3% for women. Among senior managers, meanwhile, BAME representation grew from 11.4% in 2016 to 18.8% now.
UK Music noted that there is still “a lower representation of females aged 35 and above compared to younger age groups” however. Keith Harris OBE, chairman of UK Music’s diversity taskforce, offered a measured assessment. “Things are changing for the better. Progress has been slow but steady,” he said. “We are continuing to keep our focus on ethnicity and sex as the most obvious indicators that things are changing, while remembering that diversity in the industry is about much more than that, with socio-economic background being among the important but often neglected areas which needs attention.”
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