Strengthening our Commitment to Anti-Racism
Help Musicians has become one of the founding partners of the Black Lives in Music’s (BLIM) proactive anti-racism initiative.
By becoming a partner we have committed to the Anti-Racism Code of Conduct. The Code is a comprehensive guide which has been developed for companies to hold themselves to account on their diversity and inclusion efforts, and features commitments around transparency, education on rights for employees, behaviour and reporting of discrimination, types of discrimination, training, support, collaboration and much more.
Barriers for Black Musicians and the Global Majority
We want a world where musicians thrive and sadly racism creates increased obstacles to creating a sustainable career in music. This leads to financial disadvantage and poorer wellbeing for Black musicians and other musicians from the Global Majority.
The Musicians’ Census 2023, research conducted by Help Musicians and The Musicians’ Union, highlighted how racial discrimination is a barrier to creating a viable, stable career in the industry.
Our insights showed that 50% of Black or Global Majority musicians surveyed reported a lack of sustainable income as a barrier in their music careers (compared to 44% of the total surveyed) and over 30% reported they were unable to support themselves or their families from music.
The Census also showed that 81% of people who experience racism said it had a significant impact on their career progression.
Measuring Progress with EquiTrack Tool
As partner we have also signed up to BLIM’s EquiTrack tool. The reporting platform allows organisations to assess and track their progress towards achieving diversity and inclusion goals and will provide regular reporting for partner organisations.
This will help provide clear metrics to measure tangible progress. Data insights will also help underpin the on-going education of industry professionals about the importance of anti-racism.
Leveraging data-driven insights will also inform strategic decisions at both organisational and industry levels.
Our Commitment to Racial Justice
Help Musicians aims to proactively enact social and racial justice across our organisation, and in the services we provide. We want our work to make a tangible contribution in tackling racism at all levels of music. We aim to use data reporting to keep on track with how we can enhance our internal policies and practices to foster an inclusive culture at Help Musicians.
By demonstrating this clear commitment to being a truly anti-racist organisation, we understand we are on a journey of continual learning. We are grateful to join forces with Black Lives in Music and lead positive change in this area.
Sarah Woods, Chief Executive, Help Musicians and Music Minds Matter: “Music is a force that unites people around the world and we are all poorer if we fail to recognise and address the obstacles that prevent that force from thriving.
Evidence shows that Black musicians and musicians from the Global Majority face increased challenges in their careers and it is the duty of all of us to ensure racism has no place within music.
Data from EquiTrack will support us as individuals, organisations and as an industry to identify where we can do more and do better.
By committing Help Musicians to being truly anti-racist organisation we understand we are on a journey of continual learning, and we are grateful to Black Lives in Music for leading positive change in this area.”