Music industry umbrella body UK Music and its UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce (pictured) has published a new report, Moving the Dial on Diversity, in which it calls for greater transparency to boost diversity and inclusion across the music business and creative industries.

Writing in the report, celebrated footballer and diversity champion Rio Ferdinand welcomed the progress made by the music industry and outlined how the sector could drive change across the creative industries, sport and wider society.

The report follows the publication in October 2020 of UK Music’s Ten-Point Plan, which outlined steps it said were needed to make the music industry more diverse, inclusive and welcoming for everyone working in the sector.

Among the findings of the new report is that while UK Music’s ten member organisations have made strong progress towards the targets set out in the Ten-Point Plan, more work is needed to deliver change and ensure “the sector truly reflects its audiences”.

It outlines a series of areas where more work is needed and makes recommendations that include the need for more clarity from Government on reporting standards linked to ethnicity, and more investment from companies in music in diversity and inclusion.

Noting that music plays an important role in his Rio Ferdinand Foundation; a youth and community development charity working in some of the UK’s most disadvantaged communities, the fomer England footballer said, “What this progress report shows is a willingness for the music industry to listen to colleagues from diverse communities and act – not only benchmark themselves but move the dial in a respectful manner. Taking the learnings from these past twelve months, we need to do more over the next ten years. In music, just as in football, and in life, we need to unite in diversity.”

UK Music Diversity Taskforce chair Ammo Talwar said, “Our Taskforce is delighted in the way we have been able to embed over the past year the UK Music Ten-Point Plan as the industry standard baseline for strategic action on equality, diversity and inclusion.

“Our new report outlines some very positive progress in the music industry, which we hope can lead the way for the creative industries and workplaces everywhere when it comes to bringing about lasting change.

“A key part of that involves gathering more data to help improve our understanding of why exclusion is happening in so many workplaces. Our goal is to make the music industry fairer for everyone.”