Electronic music organisations Pioneer DJ, Beatport, Sentric Music Group, AFEM, Mixmag, RA, IMS, and Women In CTRL have partnered with InChorus to launch the Electronic Music Inclusion Initiative.
The programme will start with a cultural study on bias and harassment across the sector.
The initiative launches today with the online survey powered by InChorus, enabling those working in electronic music to share their experiences of everyday bias and harassment while working in the industry. The research will run for four weeks before the information is collated and analysed. The web app can be accessed here and is available to all those working in electronic music to anonymously share their experiences.
This research will be the foundation for the Electronic Music Inclusion Initiative (EMII) – an industry-led movement taking a data-driven approach to improving culture and inclusion at scale. InChorus provides analytics and data-led interventions to build more inclusive workplaces.
The electronic music industry has faced claims of gender pay disparity and a toxic workplace culture over recent years. The push for the initiative is driven by feedback from everyone within the industry - artists, music professionals, everyone involved in this effort – who have cited instances where inequality exists.
From today, anyone working in the electronic music industry will be able to access the online survey as a confidential space to anonymously share any experiences (past or present) that they have had whilst working in the sector. By allowing anonymised reporting of micro-aggressions, InChorus can build up an industry wide cultural study by aggregating the data at an industry level to show key behavioural trends and patterns. The initiative believes that focusing on everyday non-inclusive behaviours is critical to understanding the true culture for different demographic groups across the industry.
Association For Electronic Music (AFEM) general Manager Greg Marshall said: “This first step for the Electronic Music Inclusion Initiative is designed to provide new insights on harassment, bias and discrimination issues within our culture and inform the next steps we can collectively take as an industry to address them. AFEM encourages anyone who has experienced harassment, bias or discrimination of any kind while working in the electronic music industry to take a moment to log details through the anonymous reporting tool provided.”
We have to go further to prevent harassment of all kinds and cultivate a ‘speak up’ culture across the sector
Rosie Turner
“We have to go further to prevent harassment of all kinds and cultivate a ‘speak up’ culture across the sector,” said Rosie Turner (pictured), co-founder of InChorus. “Ultimately, cultures are shaped by the inappropriate behaviours that are tolerated every day. We are serious about culture change and believe that bringing actionable data to this conversation is key, as what is measured can be improved.”
Women in CTRL Founder Nadia Khan said: “The electronic music industry has a sexual harassment and discrimination problem. Microaggressions and more ambiguous forms of sexism are more common than outright harassment, having an anonymous space to speak out is important as many times we see incidents go unreported in fear or being shut out, losing work and opportunities. There’s not one monotonous form of discrimination so an intersectional approach is key to addressing the bias that exists. Queer women of colour not only experience sexism, but racism and homophobia.
"Women in CTRL encourage all across the EDM industry to come forward, speak out and share their experiences so we can have tangible data to identify key issues and work on solutions to make the industry a safer and more inclusive place.”
As lead partner, Pioneer DJ’s (AlphaTheta Corporation) general manager Mark Grotefeld said: “Diversity and inclusion are key priorities for Pioneer DJ. We are proud to support the Electronic Music Inclusion Initiative in order to push for systemic change across the industry. We hope this will continue the progress and empower individuals to share their experiences of bias and harassment and encourage the industry to adopt robust listening tools that enable targeted action and progress.”
Pioneer DJ’s marketing executive Keleigh Batchelor added: "We’re proud to be part of this industry initiative to create change. We recognise it’s essential for us to be part of these conversations and use our platform to facilitate change within the electronic music industry. This is as much about active listening as it is learning. We must accept and value our differences and create environments where individual potential can be explored and celebrated so that we all thrive.”
Once the research is collected over the four-week period, the EMII will release the findings back to the wider industry. The initiative will use the data to inform targeted actions to promote inclusion.
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