CANADA

Indigenous and BIPOC musicians face substantial pay gap with white peers in music, industry study shows

The Canadian Press

A new study commissioned by the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) shows Indigenous performers and other live-music-business employees are routinely discriminated against in terms of how much they are paid for their work.

The 18-month study, called Closing the Gap: Impact and Representation of Indigenous, Black and People of Colour Live Music Workers in Canada, shows that Indigenous people and other minorities make $11,700 less annually than their white counterparts.

The CLMA’s CEO said she was, unfortunately, not surprised by the study’s finding.

"We're neither shocked nor surprised at the findings," said Erin Benjamin. "But now, with this report in-hand, we can – all of us – accelerate and make every effort to rid systemic inequities from our industry - prioritize and fight for the change that the report calls for, that we know we need, that we know is right. This is our community and it's our responsibility to ensure that IBPOC live music workers have every opportunity to succeed. Today marks the end of creating the report and the beginning of closing the gap in Canada's live music industry. The Canadian Live Music Association is proud to have championed and led this report and we are so grateful to our industry partners and funders for helping to make it happen.”

For the CLMA consulted extensively with BIPOC artists, organizations, and community members alongside its project team, which included many collaborators, community partners and an advisory committee to ensure that ongoing conversations with a wide range of unrestricted perspectives and experiences helped shape the direction and research questions driving the study.

‘Indigenous respondents most frequently reported fear of losing control and ownership over their stories, artistic projects and/or decision making, while mental or physical well-being (i.e., lack of health or other insurance benefits, little to no work/life balance), was reported as a significant impediment to career progression by all survey respondents,’ a CMLA statement said. The results of the study also hammer home concerns with genre categorization, where terms such as ‘Indigenous Music’ were highlighted by respondents as both providing a source of community and belonging, while also creating feelings of marginalization and tokenization, the statement said.

A major concern coming out of the study was the gatekeeping factor. More than half of all white entrepreneurs – 61 percent, to be precise -- reported that Indigenous people or people of colour made up a minority of their workplace, while 82 percent of Indigenous people or people of colour reporting that increased access to gatekeepers – including bookers, producers and executives – would help advance their careers, indicating a lack of representation at the gatekeeping level as well.

The CLMA statement said more efforts must be made to increase diversity at all levels of the live-music industry.

‘The results of the study have provided the Canadian live music industry with clear evidence and recommendations, to implement an industry-wide action plan towards dismantling the disparities and closing the gap for IBPOC live music workers nationwide, thus fostering real change,’ the CLMA said.

Marc Lalonde, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase