Written evidence from Warner Music UK (MiM0049]
I appreciate the opportunity to participate on behalf of Warner Music UK (WMUK) in the Women and Equalities Committee’s inquiry into Misogyny in Music. WMUK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG), one of the world’s leading music entertainment companies. WMG is proud to bring together artists, songwriters and music professionals who are leading and shaping entertainment culture across the globe.
WMUK takes the issues raised in this inquiry seriously. We work hard to identify where we are doing well and where we need to improve, and we are measuring our progress over time. As I shared in my comments before the Committee, WMUK has taken steps to improve the gender imbalance within our own organisation with dedicated programmes to address barriers to entry and build a more diverse pipeline of both executives and artists for the future of the music industry. We compete to sign the best talent on the market and continually strive to build the most representative and diverse roster possible.
As Jackie Doyle-Price MP noted (Q272), WMUK has a very low number of reported incidents of sexual harassment. We attribute the low incidence of cases to having strong anti-harassment policies and practices in place, including mandatory training for all employees and multiple channels to report any alleged incidents, which contributes to an organisational culture at WMUK that does not condone or accept harassment. Further, our Supplier Code of Conduct, which applies to all our third-party recording studios, licensees and advisers, requires that they adhere to WMG’s non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.
As the Committee continues its inquiry, I am pleased to provide the following responses to the questions you sent following the oral evidence session:
WMG does not maintain a database that includes the gender of our artists. Compiling this information requires a staff-intensive manual audit. Note that artists move on and off our rosters on a regular basis. We have provided our best estimates below.
The “about 40% female” number that I cited in my testimony reflects our active roster across the three frontline labels at WMUK (i.e., Warner Records UK, Atlantic UK and Parlophone) and includes direct, solo artist deals with a recording commitment of five tracks or more. As of July 2023, a total of 57 solo acts were signed, of whom 23 are women (40%) and 34 are men.
NB: The information below is from WMUK’s active roster of direct artist deals with a recording commitment of five tracks or more across the three frontline labels as of July 2023.
Aaron Hibell
Adzmilli
Baxter
Ed Sheeran
Ewan Mainwood
Fred again
Fumez The Engineer
Geelee
Ghetts
Goddard
James Blunt
James ID
Jengi
Joel Corry
Kano
Kawali
Kidwild
Kojey Radical
KSI
Liam Gallagher
Lil Macks
Mist
Mkay
Nathan Dawe
Nines
Pa Salieu
Paolo Nutini
Riton
Ryan Beatty
Sainte
Solomon
Thomas Headon
Tion Wayne
Yung Filly
Anne-Marie
Ashnikko
Bea and Her Business
Birdy
Dua Lipa
Ella Henderson
Essosa
Hannah Grae
Issey Cross
Jo Hill
Jodie Harsh*
Leigh-Anne Pinnock
Lianne La Havas
Lozeak
Mahalia
Maisie Peters
MFS
Mnelia
Pink Pantheress
Priya Ragu
Rachel Chinouriri
The Blessed Madonna
Victoria Canal
* Jodie Harsh is a drag performer who identifies as female
86TVs
Biffy Clyro
BL3SS
Blur
Boy Bleach
Coldplay
Foals
Gabriels
Gorillaz
Iron Maiden
Muse
Obskur
Parisi
Royal Blood
Symmetrick
Blond:ish
Needanamebro
New Dad
We cannot provide a meaningful response to this question. We do not maintain a database of our artists by gender, our roster is extremely fluid over time and we do not maintain historical data.
The UK Government's guidelines suggest not publishing ethnicity data unless there is a minimum of 50 employees in a single ethnicity to avoid situations where individuals may be identified because of small sample sizes. Accordingly, we are providing this information to the Committee on an exceptional basis in this confidential submission and request that it not be made public to protect the privacy and personal data of our employees. We have provided a redacted version that may be released publicly.
It is unclear what is meant by ‘senior executive board’. The information below is based on data as of 5 April 2023 and includes the top quartile (defined as the 25% highest paid employees) of all UK-based WMG employees (i.e., WMUK, Warner Chappell Music UK and Warner Music International). This is the same population and approach that WMUK use in compiling our Gender Pay Gap (GPG) disclosure. Note that while WMUK provides an opportunity for our employees to voluntarily self-identify their gender and ethnicity, not all employees choose to do so.
Finally, we have interpreted ‘person of colour’ as including Black, Asian, Mixed and Other ethnicity categories. We have not included intersections with other underrepresented group categories such as LGBTQI+ and disability.
On that basis, there are 183 individuals within the defined population, 155 of whom declared their ethnicity (91 men and 64 women). Of those:
Yes, WMUK undertakes exit interviews for all voluntary leavers and has done so for at least six years.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this inquiry. I hope that my input is helpful to the Committee. Please let me know if I can provide any additional information or clarifications.
July 2023