Further written evidence from British Phonographic Industry [MiM0042] [MiM0038]
I’d like to extend my thanks again to you and your colleagues for inviting BPI to give oral evidence at your latest hearing of your inquiry into ‘Misogyny in Music’.
We welcomed the opportunity to provide further information in person, in addition to our written evidence submitted in July 2022. We appreciate that the session was disrupted by necessary votes and are grateful for your invitation to follow-up with the Committee in writing.
Please find attached a short summary of key additional points which we did not have time to cover in the session, as well as some updates to our written submission.
I would also like to highlight some positive changes that BPI has itself put in place since last summer. As I mentioned in my evidence, I am the first woman to chair the BPI. I’m delighted that both our interim Chief Executive and incoming Chief Executive are women. This means that by July 2023, three quarters of our C-Suite team will be women. We are also in the process of employing an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Manager – a full time role which will bolster and accelerate our existing EDI work, which has until now been fulfilled within other roles. BPI is proud that 50% of our staff are women as well as 57% of our board, which is made up of representatives from our label membership and the wider music community.
As detailed in my evidence and in the further information below, similar progress can also be seen across our label members, with greater diversity on all fronts (including ethnicity) from the top to the bottom of the business. We recognise that there is further work to do, and we are fully committed to achieving this and have practical measures in place to achieve this, both individually and alongside colleagues across our industry – for example through our membership of UK Music.
If you have any further questions about the work of BPI or our label members, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
in relation to the progression and success of women, both in front of the microphone and behind the scenes, but we recognise that there is still more to do to ensure that parity is reached.
During oral evidence to the Committee, the specific work done to increase the representation of women in the Artist and Repertoire (A&R) function in labels was referenced. A&R is a fundamental part of labels, responsible for discovering and signing new artists, and one that has historically been male-dominated. We are already seeing the changes in relation to the signing of women artists as a result of more women working in these crucial roles and targeted entry-level programmes, some specifically for women. We are confident this continued work will bring long-term change alongside other efforts and we are committed to measuring progress.
Additionally, there are now more women in senior leadership roles than ever before – including in the most senior roles of running labels. EMI, Virgin, RCA, Decca, Epic and Atlantic - to name just a few - are some of the most well-known labels in the music industry and are now run in the UK by women. In other areas of the business, women hold the roles of Managing Directors, Chief Operating Officers, Executive and Senior Vice Presidents.
In our written evidence to the Committee, we highlighted detailed work that BPI is undertaking with our label members to better understand the experiences and barriers faced by women artists. We are pleased to share an update with the Committee and further details of our next steps here.
This work will culminate in the publication of a study, on which we have worked in collaboration with an independent third-party organisation. It will include data on areas such as progression and chart success, and reflect varied conversations held with women artists about their experiences, as well as wider industry stakeholders including leaders in EDI, women’s organisations in the music industry, the media and other trade bodies in music.
Based on the research, we are developing tangible actions that our record label members will commit to undertaking, to ensure that the research prompts meaningful and lasting change. We hope to be in a position to publish this study in the coming months and we will share this with the Committee in due course.
Label initiatives
Our label members have a broad range of policies and measures in place to support women employees and artists. For example, labels have introduced measures such as enhanced maternity packages, support with childcare and parental leave policies. We are already seeing the benefits of these, with more women able to return to work and progress in their careers after having children, including those in senior management roles.
There is also greater support available around women’s health and wellbeing provision such as menopause policies and access to mental health resources, as well as opportunities to join women’s networks, coaching and mentoring and progression programmes. Access to these provisions enables women to remain in work, achieve career progression and feel supported in the workplace. Other important policies include independent third-party reporting mechanisms for bullying and harassment, and compulsory behavioural training.
We refer the Committee to the table set out on pages 5 and 6 of our previous written submission for a full list.
CIISA
As noted by Jen Smith, Interim Chief Executive of CIISA during her oral evidence to the Committee, BPI and our label members have supported the creation of CIISA.
Through our membership of UK Music, we set out our position in a recent press statement and BPI has also contributed initial funds via Creative UK alongside other music industry bodies to the development of training materials.
We look forward to engaging in further discussions as CIISA enters its next stage of development.
Best Practice Framework
As part of the range of measures to tackle bullying and harassment (including involvement in CIISA), BPI has been working with colleagues in the music sector on a ‘Best Practice’ framework for the whole music sector.
It is important that everyone is protected from bullying and harassment in the sector – regardless of their role, their employment status or background - and so while this is not focused exclusively on the experience of women or misogyny, it will be part of a suite of measures to support safe and inclusive workplaces for all. There needs to be a consistent framework that applies to all parts of the sector (including freelancers) which is aimed at educating, changing culture, establishing best practice and importantly preventing bullying and harassment occurring in the first place.
The framework we have developed will provide information and guidance for individuals and organisations about what constitutes bullying and harassment, what do to do if it occurs – for example to you individually, if you witness it, or it’s reported to you. This would co-exist with and complement existing resources and training – including help/support lines and resources (e.g., Help Musicians support line); other codes of practice (e.g., those of individual trade organisations or the Anti-Racism Code in development by BLiM or the Musician’s Union’s Safe Spaces); or to CIISA.
The framework is envisaged to become an online resource, with its own brand that would be constantly communicated to remind people working in the music industry of the importance of tackling bullying, harassment and discrimination and what to do if it occurs. Communication and signposting across the industry will be key to its purpose.
We are working with colleagues in the sector to bring this to fruition and will be consulting with a wide range of stakeholders in the coming weeks in collaboration with UK Music.
The BRIT Awards
The BRIT Awards are the biggest night in UK music and a celebration of music and talent – as well as a significant fundraising platform – that we are proud to organise. We work hard to ensure the show remains current, inclusive and relevant as a celebration of the past year’s successes, while also reflecting the vibrant breadth and depth of British music talent.
We review the format, awards categories and the criteria for artists to be eligible for these annually after each event. We introduced the Artist of the Year (AOTY) category in 2022, following industry consultation, a decision rooted in the belief that it was time to take the next step forward – in tune with changing social attitudes, especially among younger people – and vote for artists on the quality and popularity of their work, rather than how they choose to identify.
By taking a lead and making this move, we want to encourage and speed-up progressive change and we believe by keeping gendered categories, we risk masking the extent of industry challenges, and in the process slow down the very change that we all want to see.
We too were disappointed that no women were nominated for AOTY, though it shouldn’t be overlooked that Wet Leg co-led with four nominations, the three Rising Star nominees were exclusively women, and 42% of the nominations overall were made up by women or mixed groups. In the International AOTY category, three of the five nominees were women, with a woman winning the title.
We believe that any evolution in the categories should be judged over time – it was just last year the AOTY award was won by a woman and that women triumphed in 10 out of the 15 categories overall, reflecting a particularly strong year in 2021 for new releases by women. Similarly for the BRIT Awards 2021, before the category changes, women artists exclusively won eight of the 11 available awards (of which only four were gendered). This included wins in categories such as Album of the Year, British Group (Little Mix), International Group (Haim), Global Icon, Breakthrough Artist and Rising Star.
Due to the nature of artist releases, the awards reflect the cyclical nature of the music industry and each year brings a different set of eligible artists. We will however continue to keep both the criteria and the gender balance (as well as other forms of diversity) under regular review.
We have recognised during the debate around AOTY that many people are unaware of the process of how artists are shortlisted for a BRIT Award. We welcome the opportunity to put this on record to the Committee. For 2023’s show, it began with a longlist of eligible artists which is determined by UK Official Album and Single Charts success, rather than by any form of selection or curation. For AOTY at the 2023 Awards, the criteria was to have achieved a Top 40 album or two Top 20 singles in the 12-month eligibility period.
The BRITs Voting Academy members then selected up to five nominations for each category from this longlist and produced the shortlist and eventual winner for each. This year 12 out of 71 artists in the longlist for AOTY identified as women artists. The BRITs Voting Academy consists of over 1,200 people drawn from all parts of the music community, including the media, artists, labels, publishers, retailers, producers and others. Around half of the Academy members who voted this year were women, while nearly a third were Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic. The voting academy is refreshed annually to ensure it is balanced and representative.
Other than for a public vote or special award, the nominations and winners are determined solely by the Academy members through their individual votes, and it’s worth noting that Academy members cannot see other members votes to ensure objectivity. The whole voting process is overseen by the Electoral Reform Society.
May 2023