Opinion: Speak up, speak out

Since the end of May, in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other black US citizens at the hands of police, the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) has gone from strength-to-strength, inspiring campaigners across the world, including here in the UK. It's prompted an outpouring of outrage, activism, self-reflection and actions in order to tackle racism, prejudice, exclusion and bias – including the unconscious bias that affects us all.

The music industry, which profits particularly from the work of globally successful black artists including the likes of Beyoncé, Rihanna, The Weeknd and Drake, has pledged to examine its practices and make real change.

On 2 June, the music industry led the #BlackoutTuesday social media campaign. People around the world posted black squares as a sign of their support. Instead of a black square, Youth Music posted a statement of solidarity, and used our communications channels to share resources and opportunities for young black creatives.

#BlackoutTuesday began with good intentions, but much more than a day of reflection is needed to remedy an ecosystem riven with socioeconomic inequalities. The music industry in its current form is largely disconnected from many of the communities it claims to serve.

It was a start though, albeit a small one. It was heartening to see organisations begin to hold up their hands and recognise what they'd got wrong, and to pledge to take action. Unfortunately, the music education sector seems to have been much less vocal on this issue. Why?

Nervousness… or complacency?

Why have music education organisations been slow to speak out? Perhaps, as recipients of public funding they're cautious about being ‘political’ – however, there are no two sides when it comes to human rights issues. Arts Council England has been strong in its statements, emphasising the creative case for diversity and being open about its own failings.

Maybe it's because – as with many sectors – music education leadership is predominantly white, and there's a nervousness about ‘getting it wrong’. We will get it wrong sometimes, and we will learn from it. But there's nothing more wrong than doing nothing.

Or perhaps it's a sense that, as music education organisations doing excellent work, we're doing enough already. Bringing music to all children. Offering inclusive activities, often free of charge. But complacency is dangerous. We can all do more, and do much better.

And there needs to be so much more than passive (and actually, patronising) ‘listening and reflecting’. It's about a continuous cycle of learning, planning and acting on what we've learned. Otherwise, its just warm words and yet another hashtag.

Music education is part of the music industry ecosystem

For too long, music education and the music industries have been disconnected. As CMU's ‘Pathways into Music’ report points out, ‘formal music education in the school system has too often seen its funding, resources and place in the timetable reduced… Ironically, this trend has occurred during a time when other parts of government have become ever more enthusiastic about the British music industry.’

For meaningful change to happen, it is crucial that the drive for inclusivity and diversity begins at school – mirrored in the music curriculum. Our research shows 97 per cent of young people listen to music each week, and those from lower income backgrounds are more likely to see themselves as musical and are just as likely to sing and play an instrument. But their creative identities all too often go unrecognised in schools. This will have an impact on the diversity of the future music industry, unless radical change happens now.

As we showed with our Exchanging Notes research, the canon of music studied in schools needs broadening and reimagining. Musician, author and speaker Nate Holder explains why, at this time in particular, it's not enough to learn about ‘protest songs’ – but instead to study Black Lives

Matter protest music: ‘It shows that you are aware of what's happening, and you're not prepared to gloss over it.’

Moreover, we must open up education to teachers and community practitioners with different backgrounds and experiences, to give young people access to representative role models. And across the board, organisations must put in place comprehensive evidence-led diversity and inclusion policies. This is just the start.

Youth Music will continue fighting for change on behalf of and alongside young people. Campaigning for inclusion, diversity and representation is at the heart of our work every day. But we know that we too have more to do – 52 per cent of the organisations receiving our Fund A grants identify as ‘diverse-led’, yet only 9.5 per cent of Fund A grants went to BAME-led organisations. It's a complex problem, and we ourselves do not have all the answers. But as ever, we welcome feedback so that we can improve our practices. I'm hopeful that this is the moment for a collective commitment from us all to do better, backed up with actions, and that we can count on our peers across the industry and education sectors to make change happen – now and in the future.