Mar 17, 2016
On Thursday March 16th, Music Week formally apologized for their lack of ethnical diversity in their 2016 "30 Under 30" list. The UK-based music industry publication released their annual list on March 14th, spotlighting thirty young, working professionals that are expected to "run the music biz" in the near future.
“30 Under 30” covered a fare share of both male and female workers in various companies – such as Live Nation, BBC, and Columbia Records, and in ranging fields – from “A&R Coordinator to “Social Media Consultant”. But upon its release, readers immediately noticed that ethnical diversity was not rightfully represented in the pool. In fact, only two out of the thirty have non-white backgrounds. That equals a glaring 1:15 ratio, and the realization lead to an additional apology article from the Music Week staff.
To give a chronological timeline of events that prompted their formal apology:
Immediately after the article was released, responses to the lack of diversity came flooding in. Readers raised their concerns and criticisms on social media platforms and what was intended to be a celebration of “the industry’s brightest young executives” became a controversial topic of whether Music Week discriminates against people of color.
One of the many included British rapper Mikill Pane, who issued a letter to the editor and described the list as “shockingly segregative”:
https://twitter.com/MikillPane/status/709441116865765376
In response to the criticism, Music Week editor Mark Sutherland wrote a second piece, attributing the predominantly white list to the lack of diversity in the music industry as a whole. He raised the argument, “For those unfamiliar with the process, it might be helpful to point out that the 30 Under 30 selection process relies entirely upon nominations from within the music industry. The lack of diversity on the list may reflect a wider lack of diversity in the industry itself. It certainly reflects a relative lack of diversity in the nominations we received.”
It was that which prompted BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ Semtex to create “30 More Under 30.” He voiced: "In 2016 you cannot create a list of 30 under 30 that are described as the 'future of the music biz' that doesn't include people of colour. Everything is changing, the way artists market themselves, fans consume music, and so must the way that these lists are compiled. All emerging talent needs the opportunity to shine, not just the faces that fit, or those that are part of an agenda." His new list included people such as DJ/Producer Afro B, Stormzy manager Tobe Onwuka, and producer Tre Jean Marie.
Three days later, Music Week published a statement, formally acknowledging their role in representing the music business in a false light. The statement reads: “We accept this criticism and apologise for not doing our jobs well enough in this instance. We will now review and adjust the nomination and selection process for this and other such lists, ensuring that diversity is given significantly more priority.”
They also fully acknowledged that the "after-the-event criticism" should not have prompted the apology and as a first step in the right direction, Music Week published DJ Semtex's "30 More Under 30," with granted permission.
The article claimed that Music Week will give more effort on including diversity in all future publications, "We will consult with a wider group of people to garner a wider range of opinions. We will allocate more time and more resources to such projects and put diversity high on the agenda for everything we do. We will certainly work harder, try harder and, hopefully, do better – and would ask for the support of the entire music industry in helping us to do so."
Image: TheGuardian