12 Ways to Make the Music Industry More Inclusive, According to the Musicians' Census

Here we look at the recommendations we think can make that happen, based on the Musicians from the Global Majority Insight Report, in partnership with Black Lives in Music (BliM).

Closing pay gaps

• Government should make reporting ethnicity and disability pay gap data mandatory. They should also reduce the threshold to companies with over 50 employees and require employers to not only develop plans to close pay gaps but also to report on progress towards their implementation.

• Industry should collect robust diversity monitoring data that includes freelancers. This data will help industry measure diversity, and identify and close pay gaps, including freelance pay gaps.

Equal access to education and training

• Governments should reverse cuts to music and arts subjects and make music education available to all children in schools.

• Governments implement a broader curriculum so that learners can study music in school on a wider range of instruments and genres that encompass popular, traditional and classical styles from around the world.

• Governments should commission an audit of school music uptake by protected characteristics, to understand which groups are underrepresented and why.

• Industry should engage with education providers to provide pathways for increasing the instrument and genre options available to learners.

• Industry must invest in initiatives that support the career progression of musicians from the Global Majority, create integrated networking opportunities for these communities and implement positive action initiatives in their recruiting processes such as BLiM’s recruiting classical project.

• Industry: Music exam boards should conduct a review of how their syllabi are created to ensure a diverse range of genres, styles and composers are included.

Tackling racism and discrimination

• Industry must engage with Black Lives in Music (BliM) forthcoming Anti-Racist Code of Conduct and Toolkit.

• The orchestral sector should commit to the BLiM/Association of British Orchestras (ABO)/Musicians’ Union 10-point plan for inclusive recruitment.

• Government should implement Section 14 of the Equality Act 2010 and review the limit of two characteristics, so the law acknowledges overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination

• Government should introduce class as a protected characteristic within the Equality Act 2010.