With an unprecedented number of openly LGBTQ+ artists making waves in the music industry, a casual observer could argue that representation in the business has reached a new high. But according to workers within it, representation is still severely lacking.
In a new survey published by Queer Capita, in partnership with Billboard and The Orchard, nearly half of LGBTQ+ music industry respondents revealed that they felt insufficiently represented within the industry. The State of the LGBTQ+ Music Industry Professional Survey gathered responses from nearly 300 LGBTQ+-identifying professionals within the music business.
A majority of respondents (77%) said that they felt somewhat or very comfortable being open about their sexuality in the workplace, while 64% of respondents said that the industry fosters a somewhat or very inclusive and supportive environment for LGBTQ+ professionals.
That outlook changed, though, when professionals were asked about representation across all sectors of the industry. While an overwhelming 92% of respondents referred to LGBTQ+ representation as either “important” or “very important” for the industry, nearly half (48%) said they felt the community is somewhat or very poorly represented across all sectors of the business.
“As a manager, I feel good about my particular company. My concern is that as you get into the different formats and genres, many of them are not welcoming, and do not feel like supportive places as musical industries,” one respondent wrote in the survey’s open-ended response section.
When it comes to active support for LGBTQ+ people in the industry, the survey found that a mere 8% of respondents felt that their companies provided “adequate resources” for LGBTQ+ employees. Meanwhile, 21% said that their companies provided no resources to LGBTQ+ employees.
One respondent took that concern further, saying that the burden of support for the community should not fall solely on queer and trans professionals. “It’s critical to tackle unconscious bias for trans people. This should not fall on your resource groups or LGBTQ+ in addition to full-time jobs,” they wrote. “Many times, I was pigeonholed into DEI work on top of my full-time job. In reality, I don’t want to be in DEI, I want to work in music. We need to stop making our LGBTQ+ colleagues do all the work in addition to smashing glass ceilings.”
Additionally, 64% of those surveyed said that they had personally experienced or witnessed microaggressions relating to LGBTQ+ identities in the music industry. Just over a quarter (28%) of all respondents believed they had been passed over for promotions or raises due to their identity.
“I think we have a lot of LGBTQ+-identifying people in the music industry, but certain areas are still more unsafe than others,” one respondent wrote. “Working on the tech side, there are still a lot of regressive ideas about LGBTQ+ people and offensive comments or ‘jokes’ made during working hours.”
So, what can music companies do to bolster support for the community both during and outside of Pride Month? Respondents said that employee resource groups and diversity and inclusion workshops provided by their companies were “actively helpful” in creating a safe and supportive environment for LGBTQ+ workers. When asked what resources aren’t currently provided by their companies that they would like to see implemented, respondents pointed to mentorship programs (19%) and LGBTQ-specific networking events (17%) as their top choices.
“I feel pretty good about representation in our industry but I will say that I would love to see more LGBTQ+ bosses. Leadership could still use a bit of a shakeup,” wrote one respondent. “I’m very thankful that one of my first mentors was an incredibly badass artist manager. She’s an out lesbian who never shied away from her identity on the job. She showed me what it looks like to be an out, confident boss, and how that can win over clients and business partners. I aspire to the example she set still to this day.”
In a statement shared with Billboard, Queer Capita co-president Dan Iammatteo said that the nonprofit’s aim in publishing the results of the survey was to “utilize data as a tool to help keep the industry progressing on issues valued most by our community.” He added that the organization will use the results of this survey to “expand our collective impact by continuing to partner with industry DEI leaders, organizers, and champions to produce events and programs that remain free and accessible to all LGBTQ+ professionals at every level.”
