A new industry-wide survey aims to gain an accurate snapshot of diversity in the workplace within the UK’s music businesses.

The UK Music Diversity Taskforce launched the survey yesterday (11 July) – which will initially focus on gender and ethnicity – to coincide with the UK Music Diversity Summit, taking place in London today.

The taskforce, established by umbrella industry body UK Music and chaired by Keith Harris OBE, was created in late 2015.

Harris commented: “It is important that the music industry is in the vanguard of the creative industries when it comes to equality and diversity, so that we can make the most of the benefits of having such a diverse society, which has served Britain so well in the past.”

“The economic and cultural success of British music over the last couple of years has been astronomical,” said Jo Dipple, CEO, UK Music. “For us to continue such success we need a strong entry-point pipeline of diverse talent as well as career progression and a diverse management at the top. It seems obvious, but businesses with boards that properly reflect the public and the consumer do better than businesses with boards that do not.”

The Taskforce has the support of the wider industry, including major and indie record labels, music publishers, trade organisations, collection societies and the British live music industry.

Ayesha Hazarika, senior advisor at trade association BPI said: “Music is proud of its artists’ diversity but this should be better reflected across the executives who lead and shape the industry. We need the best talent to get opportunities at every level of the sector. The survey is a vital step so we can get a snapshot of what the industry currently looks like.

The survey’s results will be published later this year.