UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce is urging the music industry to ditch the “outdated and offensive” term BAME.
According to UK Music, the collective voice of the UK music industry, the acronym BAME – which stands for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic – “does not relate to country origin or affiliation”. So its Diversity Taskforce is spearheading a campaign to ditch the “outdated and offensive”, yet widely-used term, because it’s seen as “misleading and inappropriate by many, particularly those from diverse communities”.
The move follows similar calls from various organisations in other industries, as well as debates across the country in recent months. The call comes ahead of the launch UK Music’s latest diversity report, to be published later this week. The recommendation to end the use of the acronym forms a key part of UK Music’s new wide-ranging ‘Ten-Point Plan’ to boost diversity and inclusion in the music industry.
RACE FOCUS
The Taskforce hopes that ending the use of the term, which is “seen as “dehumanising by many”, is a way of acknowledging the unique experiences of people from different ethnic backgrounds. It also hopes that the move will pave the way for greater discussion and insight in the future.
The UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce Chair Ammo Talwar MBE says change is “urgently needed”, following a year where the issue of race has been brought into sharp focus by the death of George Floyd in the US and the Black Lives Matter protests across the globe.
“Our report on workforce diversity in the music industry highlights where positive progress is being made, but also where more strategic long-term work and investment is urgently needed,” states Talwar. “There is now an unstoppable momentum for change at pace to rapidly improve diversity in the music business and across society. One key change we want to see is the end of the use of a term, which is outdated and offensive to many people from Black, Asian and other diverse communities.”
CARELESS ‘CATCH-ALL’ ACRONYM
The BAME acronym is often used in reports/campaigns, but “it’s not relevant in today’s modern music industry,” points out Talwar. It also “jars with many in diverse communities”, he added.
“I have had many conversations with people in the music industry who want to see the end of an acronym which works against the sense of community and common purpose that we are all working so hard to build in the music industry and across society,” he adds. “Our UK Music Taskforce, with the support of many of our partners in the music industry, want the term consigned to the dustbin of history. It’s a key step on the path to an inclusive, welcoming culture that we all want to foster.”
If there is a need to refer to people’s heritage, “it is far better to use a word like ‘Black’, ‘Asian’ or something more specific – rather than a careless catch-all acronym,” advises Talwar. “Our diversity is the source of our greatest strength in the music industry. However, we need to bring about further change to ensure our world-leading industry is as diverse and inclusive as possible.”
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