DEI Or Die: ‘The Time Is Always Right To Do What Is Right’

With a new presidential administration that is explicitly anti-DEI, many of the biggest players in corporate America have shifted from the moral, ethical and business sense of diversity, equity and inclusion to falling in line with the White House. This is happening amidst the shutting of governmental DEI programs and the threat of government-funded organizations and educational institutions that support DEI losing funding. In this socially regressive environment, many believe the private sector – including the music business — has even more of a responsibility to take up the DEI mantle.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said “The time is always right to do what is right.” While it’s great to have a higher purpose, DEI also makes for good business sense. Studies show that a more diverse workforce not only leads to greater innovation, access to new markets and greater employee engagement, but also increases revenues. A November article in MIT Sloan Management Review by Quinetta Robinson stated that, “A recent study of DEI practices at U.S. credit unions that I conducted with McKenzie Preston has surfaced further evidence that taking a strategic approach that integrates DEI into business processes is linked to better financial performance in terms of return on assets and net income.”

Additionally, an August 2024 article posted on MarketWatch pointed to a report from business-consulting firm Korn Ferry and the Global Black Economic Forum that “analyzed thousands of public companies [and found] that ‘companies see 19% higher innovation revenue and [their] inclusive teams are 75% more likely to execute ideas successfully’ when they commit to DEI.”

All that said and quantified, the music business still has a long way to go.

“There’s not any DEI for Trump to cancel,” Rebeka Foster, founder of Ujima Sound Productions Ltd, told Pollstar. “It worked for a little bit, but for the most part, it was incremental. It was like dropping a stone in the lake and the ripples go a little bit, but then they fade away. And that’s what happened.” Foster has successfully worked for over 35 years as an audio engineer, backline tech, road manager, tour manager and/or production manager with major artists including Sarah Vaughn, Prince, Sonny Rollins, Queen Latifah and Tribe Called Quest among many others.

A 2021 study from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, “Inclusion in the Music Business: Gender & Race/Ethnicity Across Executives, Artists & Talent Teams” bears this out. The study examined the top executives at 70 major and independent companies and found that “at the pinnacle of power within these entities (e.g., CEO/Chair/President), 86.1% of top executives were men (13.9%women) and 86.1% were White (13.9% underrepresented). All 10 non-white top executives ran independent companies and only 2 were women of color. In total, just 3 top executives were Black. Looking at the 9 major music companies (SME, UMG, WMG, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Cumulus, Audacy, Live Nation, AEG Presents) across categories (music groups, streaming, radio, live music and concert promotion), 100% of the top executives were white and only 1 was female (11.1%).”

While some of those results have certainly changed in the last four years this industry still has a long way to go and the results of the study noted that “Live music and concert promotion had the lowest percentage of underrepresented executives (12.5%) and no Black executives (0), but the highest percentage of women in leadership roles (40.6%).”

When it comes to the executive ranks of CEOs, EVPs, SVPs, GMs, VP/Heads, the study said “the music labels were the only sector where the percentage of Black executives (14.4%) reached proportional representation with U.S. Census (14%). In every other sector, the percentage was less than 10%: 7.4% in streaming, 7.2% in music groups, 6.1% in publishing, 4% in radio, and 3.3% in live music and concert promotion. Turning to women executives, not one sector reached 40%. Live music and concert promotion came closest (39.1%), but other categories (e.g., music groups, streaming, labels) were similar. One-third or less of all executives in radio (33.2%) and publishing (31.9%) were women.”

The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative is preparing to release an update to the “Inclusion in the Music Business” study in the next few weeks, which will be covered here extensively.

In January the Initiative released “Inclusion in the Recording Studio? Gender & Race/Ethnicity of Artists, Songwriters & Producers across 1,300 Popular Songs from 2012 to 2024.” The report, which is sponsored by Spotify, examines artists, songwriters, and producers that are featured on songs on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Charts, along with in six major categories at the Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Producer of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year.

The percentage of artists of color experienced a 10-year low – falling significantly from 2023 (61%) to 2024 (44.6%), though the study noted that “despite the decline, the percentage of underrepresented artists remained on par with the proportion of the U.S. population that is underrepresented.” The study found that women comprised 37.7% of artists across the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Chart last year, while representing 18.9% of songwriters in 2024 and just 5.9% of producers.

“I think that tells a pretty condemning story that the music industry doesn’t know how to regulate itself in terms of making sure that artists that have talent are represented on the charts,” Dr. Stacy Smith, founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, told Pollstar. “Now, there’s another real problem when you look at people of color. There was a huge downturn in 2024 for people of color on the charts. I mean, it’s a 10-year low. So I think when you look holistically across all the data, you have to come to the conclusion [that] the music business has no idea how to hire inclusively based on talent… because these numbers suggest after 13 years they should have been able to get something right.”

Reflecting on the current U.S. administration’s anti-DEI policies, Smith said, “It’s really unfortunate now because if you didn’t have policies and procedures in place, now companies are being challenged, if not condemned or threatened, for any sort of DEI focus. … In terms of making decisions on who to sign and who gets supported, now it’s going to be very difficult because there are so many headwinds coming out of Washington toward [DEI] initiatives. And what are the initiatives? The initiatives are just designed to counter problematic ways of selecting folks who are extraordinarily talented. The goal is to try to ensure that people’s personal biases are … held in check so that [people] can be evaluated for their talent and that people’s identities aren’t what is used to make a decision.”

She added, “Remember, only 77 million people voted for Trump. 340 million live in this country as the audience, right? I mean, some people are voting on DEI and some people are voting in ways that are highly problematic, but a lot of people voted based on their pocketbook, based on the economy, based on what they couldn’t afford. … Anybody sitting in a C suite in any of these big music companies, I mean Amazon in particular, they’re out of their mind if they think they’re going to abort DEI initiatives … especially Amazon when they espouse that they’re all about data. They know how diversified the buying segment is. … we’re going to be non-white majority in 2040 that’s right around the corner in the United States. It’s just not tenable to not ensure inclusion of talent. It’s not a viable business strategy and sadly then they’ll pay the consequences financially for it.”

Shortly after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in May 2020, protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement prompted major music industry companies to make donations and pledge their support to advance racial equity. Efforts were made to transform live industry into a more fair and equitable space by establishing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion departments, ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) and partnerships with advocacy organizations including Color of Change, She Is The Music, Diversify the Stage, Roadies of Color United and Femme It Forward. Now, it’s unclear how these companies will proceed. Pollstar reached out to major promoters and agencies in the business and they either declined to comment or didn’t respond.

Art, in many forms, has long fueled resistance efforts, from political murals to protest folk songs, and now companies in the music business have the same opportunity to take a stand and double down on their DEI efforts, in hopes of helping the industry become more fair, welcoming to all and having our executives and musicians reflect the ever-diversifying audience who listens to the music and buys concert tickets and, not least of all, increase revenues.

Abandoning these principles can have deleterious economic consequences. Recently, Fortune reported that after Target announced Jan. 24 that it was rolling back its DEI efforts, resulting in calls from activists as well as civil rights leaders and Black clergy to boycott the corporation, “foot traffic is down at its stores, according to data from Placer.ai prepared exclusively for Retail Brew. Target’s announcement was on a Friday and on the following week that began January 27, foot traffic fell 4% YOY, then fell 8.6% the week beginning Feb. 3 and 3.9% the week beginning February 10. It was the first drop in foot traffic this year for Target, with foot traffic for the first four weeks of 2025 up between 5% and 11.8%”

On the other hand, Costco, which has remained firm in its commitment to DEI, has “seen traffic YoY for the same three-week period: up 5.8% on the week beginning January 27, 5.7% on the week beginning February 3, and 4.6% on the week beginning February 10.” The Feb. 21 article from Fortune notes that “correlation, of course, is not causation, and Placer.ai, which provided the data, declined to speculate on how much a factor DEI might be in foot traffic at the stores.”

The more we continue to strive to combat our biases, help increase representation and create working environments where all people feel welcome – especially those from groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination – the more creative and successful our companies will be.

Dr. Debonair Oates-Primus, Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Oak View Group (Pollstar’s parent company) said, “At OVG, we’re not just reacting to the moment; we’re building a sustainable future where diversity, equity, and inclusion are woven into the fabric of our company. We understand that true progress requires a multi-faceted approach. That’s why we’re actively cultivating talent pipelines through strategic partnerships with HBCUs, MSIs, HSIs, and tribal colleges, ensuring we’re tapping into the rich potential of underrepresented groups from the very start.

She added, “Our Employee Resource Groups are vital in fostering inclusive communities where every voice is heard and valued. We’re committed to continuous learning, exemplified by our comprehensive training programs and the engaging Communiversity series, empowering our team to be informed and culturally competent. Furthermore, our Supplier Diversity Program reflects our dedication to doing business with diverse partners, strengthening our economic impact within diverse communities. Recognizing that inclusive leadership is essential, we’ve integrated inclusive practices into our performance reviews and leadership competencies, holding ourselves accountable at every level. Our approach is holistic and forward-thinking, ensuring OVG is not only ready for the future, but actively shaping it by investing in the diverse talent that will drive our success.”