Christopher BarrettThe BPI said it has launched the Equality & Justice Advisory Group to work to promote greater equality and inclusion in the music industry.
The group will look to build on the work of its forerunner the BRITs Diversity Advisory Group, formed in 2016 by BPI chairman Ged Doherty in the wake of #BRITsSoWhite controversy, from which the members are largely drawn.
It is tasked with advising and challenging the recorded music industry trade association on matters regarding race and gender.
The BPI said the group is a “diverse/intersectional and independent board of respected music industry professionals, who collectively advocate for the progression of the equality, diversity and intersectional agenda across the sector”.
The BPI Equality & Justice Advisory Group is co-chaired by Paulette Long OBE, Kwame Kwaten and Doherty. The 13-strong group also comprises Amanda Maxwell, Arit Eminue, Ayesha Hazarika MBE, Indy Vidyalankara, Jasmine Dotiwala, Matt Ross, Meenal Odedra, Mervyn Lyn, Naz Hussain and Sharon Brooks. The Group is supported by an Internal BPI Equality & Inclusion Committee.
Doherty said: “This group originally began its work in 2016 in the wake of BRITsSoWhite, helping to better reflect diversity and the depth of British Black music through The BRIT Awards. However, there is clearly a bigger job to be done in promoting equality and inclusion more widely across our industry, and, reconstituted as the BPI Equality & Justice Group, this group can play a broader role in advising and challenging the BPI to help ensure lasting and meaningful change.”