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:

 

  1. As percentages, what proportion of Warner Music UK's roster is composed of men, women and non-binary acts?

 

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.

 

  

  1. To evidence the above figures, the Committee requests lists of the following acts signed to Warner Music UK:

 

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.

 

  1. Male Solo Acts (34)

 

 


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

 


 

  1. Female Solo Acts (23)

 

 


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

             

  1. Non-binary Solo Acts (0)

 

  1. All-male Bands (15)

 

 


86TVs

Biffy Clyro

BL3SS

Blur

Boy Bleach

Coldplay

Foals

Gabriels

Gorillaz

Iron Maiden

Muse

Obskur

Parisi

Royal Blood

Symmetrick

 


 

  1. All-female Bands (2)

 

Blond:ish

Needanamebro

 

  1. Bands where the majority of members are men (0)

 

  1. Bands where men make up 50% or less of the members (1)

 

New Dad

 

 

  1. The Chair asked for similar statistics for past years (Q207). The Committee would appreciate the same percentages as the above for 5 years ago (2018) and 10 years ago (2013).

 

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.

 

 

  1. Each of the witnesses agreed to follow up on our question regarding the proportion of your senior executive board that is comprised of a) Black women and b) women of colour (Q239). If we could have the raw numbers also that would be appreciated (i.e. how many of each are there, and how many people are on your senior exec. Board in total).

 

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:

 

 

  1. The chair asked Jessica if Sony Music UK held exit interviews (Q283), and if so how long they had done so, which Jessica agreed to follow up on and which the Chair also requested of Warner and Universal.

 

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