Music

The Musicians' Union (MU) and Black Lives in Music (BLiM) are embarking on a three-year partnership to challenge racism in the music industry.

BLiM CEO Charisse Beaumont said the goal of the collaboration is to empower Black music creators and combat racism.

They aim to do this by ensuring quality music education is available at the grassroots level and by removing systemic barriers to create career opportunities for Black musicians which result in a level playing field across the music ecosystem. 

The partnership follows a BLiM report into racism in the music industry, based on a survey that found 63% of Black musicians and 73% of Black music industry professionals had experienced direct or indirect racism during their careers.

MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl says the research shone a light the areas where “Black musicians and specifically Black female musicians encounter barriers and experience discrimination”.

“We are really excited to work with BLiM on changing that experience and shaping the future of the industry.”

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has defended the Welsh Government's decision to spend £4.25m on a piece of land for the Green Man festival.

The Welsh Government has previously said that the purchase of Gilestone Farm in Powys was intended to ensure Green Man has a "permanent home" in Wales, but the festival organisers have said they have no plans to move from their current home at the Glanusk Estate near Crickhowell.

The festival is understood to want to use the farm for sustainable farming and local food production but no business plan has yet been submitted to the Welsh Government by the festival's organisers and will not be provided until next month.

Speaking in the Welsh Senedd in response to questioning by Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies, Drakeford said those running the festival believe that they can do more to contribute to the economy of that part of Wales, "building on the success of their business".

"To do that they need more space in which to be able to develop those further possibilities. That's what lies behind the arrangements," he said.

Drakeford said that in the short term the farm will be leased back to the original owner in order that they can complete the bookings that they have in their tourism hospitality business and to make sure that the crops that have been planted are harvested this year.

"From the very beginning, we knew that the businesses plan from those who are responsible for the festival would be delivered to the Welsh Government in June of this year, and that is what we still expect," Drakeford added. 

"We are working with a trusted partner. We are working with a company that the Welsh Government has known and worked alongside over an extended period of time, as it has grown to be the fifth most successful festival of its kind anywhere in the United Kingdom. 

"We hold the land against the business plan and we will continue to scrutinise the business plan to see whether the objectives that the company have discussed with us can be delivered through it."

Only around one in 10 headline acts at the leading UK music festivals taking place this summer will be women, a study has found.

A BBC study focusing on 50 of the biggest UK festivals found that out of 200 headline acts only 26 (13%) were an all-female band or solo artist whereas 149 (74.5%) were either an all-male band or solo artist.

Meanwhile 24 acts (12%) had a mixed line-up of male and female performers, and one (0.05%) artist identified as non-binary.

This is despite many events previously promising to achieve a 50/50 gender balance across their line-ups by 2022.

Maggie Rogers, a singer/songwriter who will be performing at Latitude Festival this summer, said: "What I come to music for - as a fan and artist - is community and to feel part of something, and I think community functions at its best when it feels inclusive.

"When that doesn't happen - when the line-ups reiterate imbalances that exist in gender and race and class - it's not surprising, but it's certainly not ideal."

A lottery designed to support independent artists within the music industry has launched.

Established by artist management company Orean, Music Lotto distributes at least 50p from every £1 ticket to support the future of the music industry and help the next generation of artists.

Orean CEO Adrian Norman described it as a project “born out of passion”. 

“Grants can be applied for if an artist needs a new instrument, some studio time or budget for a music video,” he said. 

“Our team of experts will review applications and give grants away after each draw. The more tickets bought, the more we can support talent.”

The Gatsby Charitable Foundation is gifting £6m to the Royal Academy of Music, the single biggest donation in the institution's 200-year history.

The money will fund the Gatbsy Chair of Musical Theatre, the first fully-funded endowed chair at any UK conservatoire.

Two further anonymous donations are funding the Dame Myra Hess Chair of Piano and the William Lawes Chair of Chamber Music.

The three endowed chairs boost the launch of the Academy’s bicentenary campaign, which aims to raise £60m to invest into facilities, staff retention and funding future musicians.

Academy Principal Jonathan Freeman-Attwood said the donations are “a truly wonderful start” to the bicentenary.

“The Academy’s bicentenary affords us the opportunity to future-proof the values which have defined our work since 1822 while offering a transformational set of opportunities for talent to thrive, regardless of background.”