FEATURE REPORT
Delegate Conference Highlights
Tackling discrimination and inequality in the music industry were the most prominent and well-received topics discussed. Several Conference motions tackled inequalities: those dictated in music education by parental income and support, those between men and women in the music workforce, those reflected by the lack of ethnic diversity in orchestras, and those standing in the way of disabled musicians. Chi-chi Nwanoku, London Region delegate and founder of the Chineke! Orchestra, made a compelling case for Conference to recognise the underrepresentation of black and minority ethnic (BME) musicians in the orchestral sector and back a motion for fundamental change. “There’s an extraordinary wealth of talent among BME professional musicians in the UK and across the world,” she said. “Chineke! reflects the depth of that talent.” Conference heard evidence of the pay and opportunities gap between male and female musicians. “It’s 2019, not 1919,” said Bill Sweeney in moving the motion for parity for women in music. “It’s time for change and not more well-meaning words.” He quoted data from the PRS Foundation’s Keychange, an international initiative to encourage festivals and music organisations to achieve a 50:50 gender balance by 2022. Only 14% of registered songwriters in the UK, for example, were women, while a 30% pay gap separates men from women in the music industry.
attitudes expressed by promoters and venue managers to her visual impairment stood for the barriers, physical and societal, set against disabled musicians. “This kind of discrimination is as damaging to people’s careers and mental health as sexual harassment and racism,” concluded Heidi. “On every level, discrimination in the music industry needs to stop.” The state of schools’ music education, music’s downgrading within the curriculum and the prohibitive cost of music lessons were hot topics. The North of England Region proposed a motion to address the effects of the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc) on arts education and reverse its negative impact on school music provision. Since its introduction in 2010 there has been a 38% decline in the number of students taking GCSE arts subjects. Rachael Parvin voiced the EC’s support for the motion. The Ebacc, she noted, has had a “terrible effect, narrowing the options for students [while] many music teachers have had to leave the profession. But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are things we can do collectively and individually to persuade the
powers that be to scrap the Ebacc and put music back on the agenda in schools.” Horace Trubridge was adamant that the Union should continue investing a share of its reserve funds into recruitment. The MU, he explained, can no longer rely on BBC licensing income to bridge the gap between subscriptions and expenditure. The EC, therefore, decided to spend more money on recruiting new members. “Membership is now higher than at any time I’ve been involved with the Union, largely due to the ‘Join for a £’ scheme,” said Horace. “We have to do something to get the membership up to 36,000. At that level we could survive on subscriptions money alone.” 13
“It’s time for change and not more wellmeaning words.” Bill Sweeney
Chi-chi Nwanoku discussed her concerns regarding the under-representation of BME musicians.
All photos: Joanna Dudderidge. © MU 2019
Bill, attending Conference for the last time, outlined strategies for achieving gender parity. “The issue demands repeated initiatives, repeated pressure and repeated action. Equality and diversity are important human rights, but they’re also vital to the whole artistic ecology. It matters not just for women and other marginalised groups – it matters to us all!” Heidi McGough highlighted disability discrimination. She spoke of the need for accessible stages and commended Attitude is Everything’s campaigns to improve deaf and disabled people’s access to live music. While she welcomed progress made, much remained to be done, she said. The crude The Musician • Autumn 2019
