Black musicians in UK music industry 'overlooked' due to 'systemic prejudice', survey says

Leigh-Anne Pinnock, a member of Little Mix, has made her own documentary about racism in the music industry. Credits: Getty Images

According to a new survey, the UK music industry has a systematic racism problem that disproportionately affects Black female performers.

The Black Lives in Music Survey, which claims to be the largest survey of its kind concentrating on the lives of Black musicians and industry professionals, was released on Wednesday (October 13) and is based on data collected earlier this year.

Over half of the 1,718 performers, creatives, and industry employees polled have faced direct or indirect racism, including having to confront stereotypes about the type of music they should compose.

Sixty-three percent of Black musicians claimed they had faced direct or indirect racism, and seventy-one percent said they had faced microaggressions.

Eighty-eight percent of Black music practitioners feel that there are obstacles to advancement.

Black women, for example, are under pressure to change their appearance and are concerned that they will not be able to earn as much as white women. According to the report, black women's incomes were disproportionately low compared to the rest of the business.

"We can never manage to get through the door, and we are often disregarded at every point - and it's even worse if you have kids," one of the anonymous comments wrote.

"However, when we present these facts, we are frequently labeled as being too outspoken, forthright, feisty, aggressive, angry, bitter, argumentative, sensitive, ungrateful, or having an inferiority complex, when the truth is that we are natural-born leaders who should not have to dumb ourselves down to appease others."

According to one Black male musician, radio producers told him that Black male singers were not wanted since they were related to rappers. Another said they were told they were "too dark, too young, too skinny for a Black singer, too old," and that "your music is too wonderful for a British black singer."

"This is a first-of-its-kind report that throws a mirror up to the UK music industry, demonstrating what it genuinely looks like," said Charisse Beaumont, CEO of Black Lives in Music. Traditionalism and institutional racism are at the basis of the discrepancies that Black creative and industry professionals experience.

"The report reveals workplace racism, financial hurdles, and a lack of investment in Black music creators, as well as industry professionals who are unable to achieve their career ambitions."

"The paper also highlights how Black women are disproportionately disadvantaged in all aspects of the music industry, as well as how all of these issues affect the mental health of Black producers and industry workers." You can't ignore this information.”

Little Mix's Leigh-Anne Pinnock released a BBC Three documentary titled Race, Pop, and Power exposing prejudice in the music industry earlier this year. She, Alexandra Burke, Raye, NAO, and Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan all recounted their own stories of discrimination as Black women in the music industry in one scene.