A new report from Attitude Is Everything reveals that disabled music creators face significant barriers across the music industry, including for live showcasing, self-promotion and funding.
The report, Next Stage Snapshot (available here), is based on a survey of 71 deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent music creators. This is the third report from Attitude Is Everything since 2019.
The 2024 report found that:
Only 48% felt confident in applying for financial funding
Only 10% felt confident in self-promoting their artist brand and music
Only 20% felt confident in sharing access requirements, that are protected by the Equality Act 2010
The report highlights a number of areas where the music industry can improve accessibility for disabled music creators, including:
Funding: The report calls for funders to provide separate access requirement funding as standard, and to better support disabled artists in sourcing and managing support workers.
Self-promotion: The report calls for social media platforms to do more to investigate algorithmic bias and online abuse, and for labels and distributors to ensure that accessibility and wellbeing are at the heart of marketing conversations.
Live showcasing: Live promoters should ensure that they work with venues that provide accessibility for performers in order to protect disabled artists rights under the Equality Act 2010.
Uprooting inaccessible practices in the music industry would enable everyone to flourish
Hillary Juma
Attitude Is Everything’s Next Stage initiative provides a range of support and resources for disabled music creators, including workshops, events and peer support networks. The upcoming relaunch of the Live Events Access Charter will include more guidance on how to support artists’ access needs.
Hillary Juma, artist development manager at Attitude Is Everything, said: “Uprooting inaccessible practices in the music industry would enable everyone to flourish. We hope that in sharing our members’ voices in the Next Stage Snapshot, everyone in our industry who works with deaf, disabled and neurodivergent music creators (disclosed or non-disclosed) will be inspired to take action with us to make the industry more accessible. We all have the power to make change for the better if we build collectively.”
Elle Chante, an artist in the Attitude Is Everything network, said: “I’d like to imagine a future in which it’s normal for funding opportunities to recognise and support access needs – from application to project end. Where alternative, flexible ways of working and marketing become widely accepted. Where live showcases are supportive of both audience and artists’ needs. I truly believe that with more accessible funding and approaches we can create a music industry that empowers disabled artists to have fulfilling, sustainable and safe careers.”
