In today's CMU Daily: UK Music has published its bi-annual Workforce Diversity Study, finding that there have been “significant improvements” over the last two years. However, things could still be better, and the report calls on the incoming British government to support proposed changes to help make that happen

One Liners: Warner Records appointments; !K7 certified B Corp; ASCAP London Music Awards; new releases from Tones And I, Fontaines DC, Laurie Anderson, Mette, Torres x Fruit Bats, Flohio, Rebecca & Fiona, Why?, Tindersticks, Julia Raye

Also today: Judge dismisses Megan Thee Stallion song-theft case; New AI tools help artists to sing in other languages

“Significant improvements” in UK music industry diversity, report shows

There have been “significant improvements” in the diversity of the UK music industry over the last two years, according to cross sector trade group UK Music as it publishes the results of its latest Workforce Diversity Survey. However, there remain areas where more progress is needed, and the organisation has outlined support it would like to receive from the next government when it is formed next month. 

The biggest increases in workforce diversity came in the number of women working at a senior level, as well as Black, Asian and ethnically diverse respondents in the youngest demographic and at entry level. 

“We have seen steady progress on increasing diversity across the music industry since we launched this survey in 2016, with further significant improvements year on year”, says UK Music Diversity Taskforce Chair Ammo Talwar. “That’s down to some of the brilliant initiatives in the sector that are driving change and those organisations that have led the way with integrity and transparency”.

“However, there is still loads more to do”, he adds. “We need the next government to be fast and fearless when it comes to working with us to tear down the remaining barriers. The socio-economic data is especially concerning, with figures for those working in the music industry whose parents came from a professional background above the national average. We need to do more to ensure that we’re getting talent from every walk of life”.

The social economic figures show that 56.1% of respondents come from professional backgrounds, with 20.9% coming from working class backgrounds. 

Compared to the previous survey in 2022, the research saw a very slight increase in the total number of respondents who identify as women. However, the number working at senior level rose to 48.3%, from 45.1% in 2022 and 40.4% in 2020. Women still remain more highly represented at mid-level (52.4%) and entry level (61.5%).

In terms of ethnicity, the number of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse respondents aged 16-24 rose from 23.2% in 2022 to 40.6% in 2024. Meanwhile, representation at entry level was up from 23.6% in 2022 to 32.5% in 2024. There was also a less significant rise at senior level, from 18.2% to 22.1%.

The report concludes with a call for the incoming British government to support the UK music industry’s diversity requests, as laid out in UK Music’s recently published Manifesto For Music. 

This includes extending the limitation period for discrimination or harassment claims under the Equality Act, mandating the reporting of ethnicity and disability pay gap data, and commissioning an independent review into how the Metropolitan Police and local authorities react and respond to Black music events.

“UK Music, our Diversity Taskforce and our members have all worked for years to nurture our sector’s reputation for making diversity and inclusion a top priority”, says UK Music Interim Chief Executive Tom Kiehl. “We established our Ten Point Plan, and then built on that with The 5Ps - a framework that mapped out five key areas the industry could use focus on to deliver enduring results for diversity and inclusion – people, policy, partnerships, purchase and progress”. 

“We are now asking all the political parties, stakeholders and the industry to get behind the priorities outlined in our Manifesto For Music and look forward to working with the government and new Parliament to deliver this”, he concludes.

ICA // Music Event Manager (London)

Chalk Press Agency // Senior Music Publicist (London)

SJM Concerts // Event Ticketing Manager (Manchester)

Sentric Music // Revenue Optimisation Manager (London/Liverpool)

Sentric Music // Copyright Manager (Liverpool/London)

Solar // Finance Manager (London/Hybrid)

terrible* // Finance Assistant/Bookkeeper (London)

Horizon is CMU's new weekly newsletter - published each Friday - that brings you a hand-picked selection of early-stage career opportunities from across the music industry.

Whether you're looking for your first job in music or you're ready to take a step up, Horizon is here to help you find your dream job faster.

👉 Click through to see the current selection.

ONE LINERS

!K7, Tones And I, Fontaines DC + more

APPOINTMENTS

Warner Records in the US has hired Terese Joseph as SVP A&R Administration. "I’ve known Terese for many years, starting back in our Island Def Jam days in New York”, says Karen Kwak, Head Of A&R. “She’s a well-respected and knowledgeable player in the field, playing an integral role in the delivery of massively successful projects for music legends to newcomers alike”.

LABELS 

Independent record label !K7 has achieved B Corp certification, recognising its policies as an ethical and sustainable business. “Being a B Corp means that we are part of a global movement of businesses that are committed to the highest standards of social and environmental impact”, says the company. “We believe that businesses can be a force for good, creating lasting, positive change far beyond individual efforts”.

AWARDS

US collecting society ASCAP has announced the winners of its London Music Awards. Among those taking away trophies, Lostboy was named Songwriter Of The Year, Kenya Grace took the Global Impact Award, and Cian Ducrot was handed the Vanguard Award. 

RELEASES

Tones And I will release new album ‘Beautifully Ordinary’ on 2 Aug. Out now is new single ‘Dance With Me’. She’s also announced a show at The Garage in London on 24 Jul.

Fontaines DC are back with new single ‘Favourite’. Their fourth album ‘Romance’ is out on 23 Aug. 

Laurie Anderson is set to release new album ‘Amelia’ on 30 Aug. Out now is ‘Road To Mandalay’. 

Mette has released new single ‘Muscle’. 

Torres and Fruit Bats will release collaborative EP ‘A Decoration’ on 9 Aug. Out now is the single ‘Married For Love’. 

Flohio has released new single ‘Juice’. 

Rebecca & Fiona will release their fourth album ‘Mega Dance’ on 27 Sep. It’s their first LP since 2018’s ‘The Art Of Being A Girl’. Out now is first single ‘Heartbeat’. 

Why? has released new single ‘G-dzillah G’dolah’. New album ‘The Well I Fell Into’ is out on 2 Aug. 

Tindersticks have released new single ‘Nancy’. Their latest album ‘Soft Tissue’ is out on 13 Sep. 

Julia Raye has released new single ‘Expectations’.

Megan Thee Stallion song-theft lawsuit dismissed

A New York court has dismissed a song-theft lawsuit filed against Megan Thee Stallion last year over her 2020 hit ‘Savage’. The judge hearing the case was not convinced by the theory for how the rapper’s producer, J White Did It, got access to - and then ripped off - a track called ‘It’s About To Be On’, which was made 20 years earlier. 

The creator of ‘It’s About To Be On’, James A Greene, said that White’s manager Klenord ‘Shaft’ Raphael was the connection between his track and the producer. However, judge Katherine Polk Failla concluded that, even when “generously construed”, Greene’s lawsuit did not provide “sufficient direct or circumstantial evidence” to support the claim that Megan Thee Stallion and her creative team had “reasonable access” to the earlier work. 

To demonstrate that a new song has infringed the copyright in an old song you need to do two things: prove the artists behind the new song had access to the old song, and that the two songs are sufficiently similar to constitute infringement. 

If you can show that the two songs are “so strikingly similar as to preclude the possibility of independent creation”, then a court might take access as a given, but that is hard to do. And, despite Greene’s best efforts, Polk Failla did not accept there was striking similarity between‘It’s About To Be On’ and ‘Savage’. 

Therefore Greene had to show White had access to his track. ‘It’s About To Be On’ isn’t well known. Indeed, it isn’t even on the streaming services, having been made when digital music was in its infancy and only subsequently posted to YouTube. Therefore Greene needed to provide to the court a convincing ‘chain of events’ to explain how White had access to his track

That’s where Raphael comes in. Greene claims that he first met Raphael in 2000 at a Lil Kim studio session and again in 2004 when he was playing some tracks to a Bad Boy Records assistant. In 2000, he says, he gave Raphael two CDs containing his work, and in 2004 he left another CD with the Bad Boy staff member. 

In 2005, Raphael met White, and subsequently became the producer’s mentor and manager. In that role, Greene alleges, Raphael would “give White music created by other producers” as if it was his own and then encourage White to “reproduce” that music. 

Basically, Greene says, White was encouraged to do what is known as ‘beat jacking’. That beat jacking created “the mechanism” via which White got access to ‘It’s About To Be On’, which he then copied when working on ‘Savage’ many years later. 

It’s a good story, but not - reckons Polk Failla - a compelling explanation for how White had access to ‘It’s About To Be On’. And, given the similarity between ‘Savage and Greene’s track is not particularly striking, the lawsuit was duly dismissed.

Setlist Podcast: Spotify referred to FTC over “unlawful conduct”

In this week's Setlist Podcast: Chris Cooke and Andy Malt discuss the latest escalation in the fight over Spotify’s reclassification of its premium subscription as an audiobook and music bundle in the US, the lawsuit against Drake for putting one of his own song titles on a t-shirt, and the return of the band formerly known as Easy Life, who have nothing to do with easyJet.

🎧 Click here to listen - or search for 'Setlist Podcast'

Universal and TikTok employ AI to help artists and creators speak more languages

Universal Music has announced a partnership with technology company SoundLabs that will give artists signed to the major access to a new AI vocals tool. Among other things, it will allow them to “sing in languages they don’t speak”. Meanwhile, TikTok has unveiled its own new AI tools that brands and creators can use to create multilingual avatars, helping to expand global reach and localise content and campaigns. 

These technologies create an interesting dilemma for artists and other creators. There are concerns that generative AI models that replicate a person’s voice and likeness are a threat to human creativity. But, at the same time, those models can be useful for artists and creators looking to expand their output and reach new audiences. 

SoundLabs was founded by producer and songwriter BT. The deal with Universal relates to a tool called MicDrop, via which participating artists can “create custom vocal models”. That, says the music company’s SVP Strategic Technology Chris Horton, will then allow those artists to “push creative boundaries using voice-to-voice AI to sing in languages they don’t speak, perform duets with their younger selves, restore imperfect vocal recordings, and more”. 

TikTok’s new tools can be used by creators to “leverage their own likeness and construct multi-lingual avatars” which can then feature in their videos. Brands can also create avatars for their spokespeople, or they can partner with a TikTok creator and utilise the avatar they have developed. Or, alternatively, they can utilise various pre-built avatars that TikTok has generated in partnership with a group of actors. 

With all the concerns around generative AI models being trained with unlicensed third-party content - and being used to infringe the personality rights of artists and creators - both SoundLabs and TikTok are keen to stress that these tools are designed to empower the creators whose voice and likeness will be imitated. 

TikTok stresses that the actors involved in creating its pre-built avatars were paid for their involvement. And the creators who now interact with the new tools will have control over their avatars, and be able to “propel their creativity to a global audience with the power of generative AI”, while “scaling their opportunities with brands”. 

With SoundLabs, the custom vocal models generated with participating artists will be “available for their exclusive creative use cases and not available to the general public”, we are told.

Founder BT adds, “We believe the future of music creation is decidedly human. Artificial intelligence, when used ethically and trained consensually, has the promethean ability to unlock unimaginable new creative insights, diminish friction in the creative process and democratise creativity for artists, fans and creators of all stripes. We are designing tools not to replace human artists, but to amplify human creativity”. 

Of course, even legitimate and licensed generative AI models will create new competition in the creative marketplace. However, many artists and creators will likely accept there isn't much that can be done about that and, in the meantime, embracing these tools can enhance creativity and productivity. And, if nothing else, allow you to sing or chat in a lot more languages.