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The #ChangeMusic Roadmap, launched by the
Recording Academy and racial justice non profit Color of Change,
said that Black contributions to the industry have historically
been undervalued.
Black artists "have created styles of music, the culture, the
trends, and the success of this business - yet too often are
left unheralded and excluded from the rooms in which the most
important decisions are made," the organizers said.
The initiative follows a cultural reckoning that was spurred by
nationwide street protests this summer over systemic racism, and
pressure on the music business to improve the numbers of Black
people in its corporate ranks.
Rap and R&B music overtook rock in 2017 to become the biggest
music genre in the United States but there are only a handful of
Black executives in senior jobs in the industry.
The Recording Academy, which votes on the Grammys, has come
under fire in recent years from the likes of Drake, Jay-Z and
Kanye West for seeming to favor white artists. In more than 60
years of the Grammys, only two hip-hop albums have ever won
album of the year and the last Black artist to win the coveted
accolade was Herbie Hancock in 2008.
The Recording Academy in October launched the Black Music
Collective in response to the criticism.
The #ChangeMusic Roadmap calls for the fair distribution of
royalties, an examination of old recording contracts for
potential inequities, anti-racist training, annual reports on
pay disparities and an increase in the numbers of Black people
in leadership positions.
"This moment offers an unparalleled opportunity to change
patterns of exclusion and degradation," the Recording Academy
and Color of Change said in a statement.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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