Written evidence submitted by the Association of Independent Music (MiM0036)

 

 

Introduction

 

The Association of Independent Music (‘AIM’) is the not-for-profit trade body exclusively representing the UK’s independent music sector, which makes up over a quarter of the recorded music market and extends into many other areas of music activity. Started by a group of founding member businesses to level the playing field for independently owned music businesses and now in its 23rd year, AIM has over 1,000 independent record label and associated business members.  AIM’s members range from the largest, most globally respected record labels and associated music businesses to self-releasing artists and the next generation of entrepreneurs in music. AIM promotes and supports this exciting and diverse sector and community globally and provides a range of events, services, commercial opportunities and practical help to members, enabling them to innovate, grow and break into new markets.

 

AIM’s members are the entrepreneurs of the UK music industry. They are a broad and diverse community of people and companies who share the uniting experience of being driven by a passion for the music they produce and a desire to build successful businesses around it in the 21st Century.

 

Our members come from across the independent music business community including some of the biggest independent labels like Beggars Group (Radiohead, Adele, Libertines and more), Domino (Arctic Monkeys) and Ninja Tune (Bonobo) to globally celebrated specialists and newer challengers such as Hospital, Brownswood (Giles Peterson), Black Acre (Connie Constance) and Transgressive (Arlo Parks). AIM also has a significant membership of independent artists who self-release their music through a range of business partners, ranging from those just starting out to established names who are known the world over.

 

Our members work on the basis that, by standing together as a united community, they are stronger. Growing a business can be a very isolating experience, so in coming together through AIM, our members learn from each other and support one another. They also support AIM financially, which enables us to carry out the vital work we do to support them – our member contributions make AIM a truly unique autonomous safe-haven and a source of power and strength for the independent music community.

 

AIM’s board is currently 65% female, is highly ethnically diverse and representative of the diversity of business and people from across the independent sector. The AIM team is also majority female and diverse in ethnicity as well as in other ways. The AIM community contains a number of female-founded and female-led businesses and there are many who are active campaigners in female empowerment and against misogyny.

 

AIM is fortunate to have many thought-leaders in its membership and on its board, and our current Chair is Nadia Khan, founder of Women in CTRL. Women in CTRL are an activism and advocacy organisation for women in music and have carried out a number of pieces of research into various issues which intersect with issues around misogyny.  AIM supports the submission from Women in CTRL and this submission is intended to sit in addition to it.

 

AIM is also a stakeholder at UK Music and has contributed somewhat to its submission to this call for evidence.  We support UK Music’s response as representative of the broad consensus around its table and this further response is intended to augment it, bringing to the fore some additional focussed perspectives from the independent music sector.  An organisation, we certainly cannot suggest that we speak for every individual in the independent music community on this subject and we know that some are submitting their own responses.  We support those responding, with their diversity of thought, experience and priorities in this complex area and would not claim authority over any of thoseThat said, whatever differences there may be in outlook on these issues, as an organisation, we have, and continue to, take a stand against misogyny and sexism.

 

 

 

The AIM community stands against misogyny and sexism but appreciates that while such behaviour and opinions exist in society there will be a creative tension in music as in other artforms between freedom of expression and freedom-limiting speech and portrayalsThe diverse creative community we represent favour freedom of expression as a crucial part of music creation and are against unnecessary censorship but this is balanced with taking a stand against activities which limit the freedoms of others, such as where hate speech occurs.

 

This is a complex area and AIM supports and agrees with Women in CTRLs more detailed response to this question.

 

 

 

There are many avenues of support of varying types and ways of reporting of misogyny, sexism and abuse within and around the music sector.  We believe the music sector is a leader in having so many options available to support women in its ecosystem.  However, there are very few which are able to provide more than general support and signposting and those supporting are often not specialists in health, mental health, mediation, specific legal knowledge required to provide the deep level of support and assistance required by the more severe examples.  Many in the industry are, however, passionate about supporting women who have experienced sexism or misogyny.

 

We refer you to Women in CTRL and UK Music’s responses which set out many of the organisations which offer specific support on issues related to sexism and misogynyTrade bodies, including AIM, also offer support to members including, for AIM, employees, freelancers and artists in the independent music community, signposting specialists both within music and outside it and arranging peer support where helpful. 

 

There are also a large number of organisations and groups which support women in the industry more widely and provide career help, peer-to-peer mentoring, networking opportunities and promotion of women in the industry, these include Women in CTRL, The F-List, SheSaidSo, among many others.  AIM partners with many of these organisations as well as being active in this space itself, having been a forerunner in supporting women’s careers in music through bespoke events while there were few others in the space, then moving on to incorporating some of these activities into its main events and activity programme and partnering with specialist organisations as the space evolved.

 

AIM agrees that widespread education is paramount to stamping out misogyny and sexism and works to help align behaviours with values in a number of ways.  We provide an annual programme of education via webinars and online workshops free to members and connected community organisations, which includes topics relate to the areas of this inquiry. The programme is called ‘EDI Level Up’ (not to be confused with the government’s Levelling Up programme).  Topics covered include recruitment techniques to overcome unconscious bias, discrimination awareness, and dignity in the workplace.  We plan to add Menopause awareness to the continued rollout of the programme.  These sessions are provided free to all of our members and those of partner organisations and, being online, they are available across the UK. The programme has been well attended at all levels of power in the independent sector and some of the sessions are targeted directly at leaders, founders and senior executives in music businesses.  The EDI Level Up programme sits within AIM’s wider professional development programme, AIM Academy, for which AIM is committed to gender balance and female role models in the form of expert speakers across its programme and also outreach to encourage gender parity in audiences.

 

AIM has provided Safe Spaces at some of its in-person events, run by specialist organisations Help Musicians and Music Support, taking inspiration from the Association of Independent Festivals and Musicians Union.

 

 

 

AIM supports the responses given by Women in CTRL and UK Music and defers to the expert knowledge of the Association of Independent Festivals and others involved in the Live music group in relation to this aspect of the inquiry.  AIM closely follows the Association of Independent Festivals proactive work to ensure safety and address concerns at its members events.

 

 

 

With many thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of individuals working in and around music, the expectations and experience of women in the industry varies widely.  Although in general these would not be materially different than those within many other industries and across society, there are some issues which are felt particularly keenly within the music industry due to the nature of the work and workplaces and the types of workers within the industry.

 

The music industry, being centred around music and musicians, involves performance and events.  The industry operates as a highly interconnected ecosystem, so there are few aspects which would not involve interactions with events to a greater or lesser degree.  This means that there can be a greater degree of late evening and night activities and work, very variable hours, adult-only environments, a blurring of social and professional elements, and so on.  This is not uncommon across the creative sector in general, as well as in the leisure and hospitality sectors, among others. 

 

The anti-social and varied hours, and evening commitments, all affect mothers, and more broadly parents, in music as well as older women, arguably more than many men.  This often results in unintentional limitation in career progression or causing experienced workers to leave the music workforce.  Data collected by UK Music shows a significant drop-off in women working in music as they get older few women at the top of the professions and businesses.  AIM refers the committee to the insights relating to the lack of women in senior positions within the sector set out in their submission to the inquiry for this question.

 

Music is an industry built on passion. Work life is often closely associated with peoples’ hopes and dreams.  This can result in people making sacrifices or unhealthy choices that might not ordinarily be deemed acceptable in other career pathways.  Many independent music businesses and entrepreneurs who could attract higher incomes through their skillset in other sectors choose to build businesses and careers in music due to their passion for it and often because they are musicians themselves or are closely connected with musicians. 

 

The impact of passion-led careers allied to an industry with fewer formal structures than some other sectors can result in tension and power disparities.  On paper someone suffering misogyny may have a choice of who they work with but in practice this may not feel like an option available to them if they want to further their career or achieve success.

 

AIM also refers the committee to the in-depth analysis and research carried out by Women in CTRL and set out in their submission for this question.

 

 

 

We support and agree with all of the steps set out in Women in CTRLs submission to this question as well as the wider proposals in UK Music’s submission.

 

In relation to some of the broader proposals, it is worth considering there can be challenges for those unstructured working environments in the music industry.  It can be difficult for freelancers – of which there are a very high percentage of the music industry workforce – to find clear avenues to report incidents and gain mediation or other resolutions, or to seek less formal or legal outcomes for issues which are not of a clear contractual or unlawful nature.  This is not unique to music or even the creative sectors, but bears scrutiny in how it manifests specifically in music.

 

Additionally, it can be challenging for employees and smaller employers to gain cost effective legal support where there is an employment-related issue, and for freelancers in contractual or unlawful matters.  This is particularly problematic for younger people in the industry who are arguably more likely to be on the wrong side of power imbalances.   Cost should never be a barrier to seeking redress against misogyny and sexism.

 

The issues of misogyny and sexism are not unique to music, as noted in UK Music’s submission to this inquiry.  There are parallels, for example, with Dance, Theatre, Hospitality and Leisure and, for AIM’s sector with other small businesses and entrepreneurial workers.  As such, many of the steps suggested are broad, cross-sectoral, or society-wide and should be addressed in that manner.  We support UK Music’s suggestions around enhancing legislation to protect women in the workplace, in contractual arrangements, and in society.  Along with UK Music and many of its stakeholders, we have long supported the #SelfieLeave campaign on extending parental leave and pay to freelancers.

 

We would, additionally, welcome financial support for small businesses to ensure that maternity leave and related leave does not come at costCoupled with this, we would like to see an extension of more cost-effective childcare as well as financial support for businesses in facilitating flexible working arrangements.  This would encourage more businesses in hiring, retaining, and promoting women to senior levels and relieve gender disparities in this area, allowing for female-led executive decision-making which would no doubt filter down through the industry and create lasting change. 

 

July 2022