BMAC

Today, the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) unveiled the second edition of its Music Industry Action Report Card (MIARC) which observes dozens of organizations in a number of classes — labels, publishers, streaming providers, dwell leisure and touring, the Recording Academy and extra — and the way market leaders (and/or these most carefully affiliated with Black/city music, creators and audiences) have taken motion to raise black staff and donate to racial justice initiatives.

“Racism, a 400+-year-old disease, will not be cured in 24 months. However, through music’s reach, power, and influence, our industry can set a new standard of inclusion, diversity, and equity,” writes Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, co-founder/co-chair of the BMAC, within the report card’s introduction. “Our goal is for the MIARC to inform critical changes in the music industry that increase equity and inclusion across areas.”

The report card makes its assessments of the Recording Academy and music teams utilizing a letter grading system from A-F in 4 classes: company commitments, partnerships and giving; firm illustration on a senior stage; inside firm tradition and enterprise practices; and firm transparency and public accountability. Other sectors of the trade are assessed on a scale of E-U (wonderful to wants enchancment), primarily based on all 4 classes mixed.

Results for the second report card — which noticed the United States from June 2021 to 2022, confirmed some indicators of enchancment in music teams — with a number of reaching Bs and As. The solely exception was a pair of Cs for Universal Music Group, which the report factors out was probably a mirrored image of 2022 being UMG’s first 12 months as a publicly traded firm. They additionally made be aware of Capitol Music Group’s “cultural blunder” with signing and dropping AI act FN Meka, described by the coalition as “a digital composite of almost every Black rap stereotype packaged in a racially ambiguous character, created by a non-Black team and company.”

All of the listed streaming providers earned “satisfactory” and one “excellent” went to Amazon Music “for its visible representation among senior staff and its partnerships, especially in comparison to Amazon corporate.” Still, a lot of the trade — most prevalently in businesses and live-entertainment corporations — “needs improvement.”

“During this report’s evaluation period, the Big Three music groups all released some
version of long term plans and commitments across various areas of business, people and
culture, as did several digital/streaming service providers (or their corporate parent companies),
and most companies have continued the work they began in 2020,” he report’s introduction reads. “However, there are still sectors of the business that need review (royalties and publishing) and a dedicated focus to increasing Black representation in executive and employee ranks (live entertainment).”

The report additionally requires extra transparency in recording and publishing contracts and highlighted the necessity for extra variety in radio. On the alternative finish, BMAC praised organizations like “Diversify the Stage and Roadies of Color United” for addressing the shortage of Black professionals in dwell touring.

For extra data and to view the report card, see here.