U.K. BIZ ENACTS ANTI-RACISM CODE

Black Lives in Music has created an industry-wide code of conduct that’s designed to raise standards and tackle discrimination in the music industry.

It covers such points as discriminatory behavior, micro-aggressions, support mechanisms for staff, mandatory anti-racism training, equal pay and contracts, career progression and achieving proportionate representation in the artist, technical and production communities.

Endorsed by the U.K.’s Independent Standards Authority, the code will be implemented this spring.

Said BLIM CEO Charisse Beaumont, "The code will have the power to investigate the most serious and complex cases of bullying and harassment. It will have legal expertise behind it as well. There are pockets of support, but if you're looking for help, where do you go? That's why it's really important to have that overarching, strong messaging of consequence, of protection. That you do not have to fear retaliation. And I think that can be found with the ISA.”

The code follows Part I of BLIM’s Being Black in the U.K. Music Industry report, which was published last year. The survey revealed that the majority of those who took part (1.7k participants) had experienced acts of racism in the music industry. The majority (88%) agreed that there are barriers to advancement for Black music professionals, and findings detailed a racial pay gap.