Barriers facing black and south Asian music events ‘cost London up to £141m a year’
Summary
A report has found that Black and South Asian music events in London face more cancellations and restrictions than white events. These barriers lead to an estimated loss of up to £141 million a year for the city’s live music industry.Key Facts
- The Race Equality in Music Event Licensing (REMEL) report was led by Black Lives in Music after two years of research.
- Disproportionate restrictions mostly affect genres like Afrobeats, drill, dancehall, reggae, and jazz.
- White music events, such as indie, pop, and rock, face much less scrutiny.
- The cost of event cancellations and restrictions is between £127 million and £141 million annually, with a potential loss of over £650 million in five years.
- The report highlights issues with unverified police intelligence used to cancel events, often without clear explanations to promoters.
- The study was backed by the Mayor’s office, Greater London Authority, Metropolitan Police, UK Music, and others.
- Some venues owned by Black people have had licenses suspended unfairly, while white-owned venues often get quicker support after incidents.
- The report suggests racial discrimination continues despite past efforts, like the removal of Metropolitan Police’s Form 696 in 2017, which was criticized for its bias against Black music events.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
