The Black Music Action Coalition Wants to Hold the Industry Accountable

In the wake of this spring’s global reckoning on racial injustice, two Black music professionals, Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, turned the spotlight on the industry with the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused. In a statement, they explained the action was aimed at disrupting long-standing inequities. Major labels and tech companies responded with statements of solidarity. Some made donations. Others announced vague task forces. But it was generally unclear if these companies were taking any long-term actions to fight against systemic racism within the industry.

The Black Music Action Coalition is trying to make sure that they do. On June 22, the group of music industry professionals published an open letter in which they formed an alliance with #TheShowMustBePaused and outlined objectives, including a full review of the treatment of Black artists as well as the advancement of Black executives at companies including Universal Music Group and YouTube. “The industry that has profited the most off of Black culture must lead by example,” read the letter, which was signed by a wide array of pop titans, from Quincy Jones to Cardi B to Billie Eilish.

Registered as a nonprofit trade organization, BMAC is led by an executive board of Black music managers, major label executives, and lawyers. Among them are marketing consultant Ashaunna Ayars, whose clients include Mary J. Blige and Common; G-Eazy co-manager Jamil Davis, who has previously worked with Lil Wayne and Drake; and Prophet, who manages the careers of artists including Asian Doll and Layton Greene. Last month, the three board members spoke to Pitchfork about their ongoing conversations with the music industry’s most powerful companies, recent efforts at diversity and inclusion, and how they believe the industry can do more to uplift its Black workers.

Pitchfork: How exactly did the BMAC come together?

Prophet: The entire industry agreed that something had to happen, but we wanted to make sure: What happens the next day, when we wake up Black? How do we address the systemic racism within major music companies, and society as a whole, using artists’ voices to do so?

BMAC came out of a conversation from a few managers who were talking with their artists, who were looking to use their voices in a way that was going to be meaningful. Out of that, the Black managers agreed to work together to formulate an agenda in order to hold labels accountable for the pledges that they made.

Jamil Davis: As we saw responses to the moment begin to emerge, we realized that none of them were artist-based, and most of it was coming from the companies. So we wanted to figure out how to activate a non-partisan thing, because we each have artists, clients, lawyers, and agents from all over the industry. We had to understand what people were doing at the big companies and then figure out how to help these people.

Ashaunna Ayars: There’s a lot of work that we’re doing outside of the labels, too. There’s a lot of legislative work that we’re doing, a lot of work on voter suppression and voter registration.

In the letter, you named Universal, Warner, Sony, Apple, YouTube, and BMG as companies you want to sit down with. How have they responded?

Ayars: We are in partnership with a lot of these labels, so we have a great relationship with them. This isn’t a stick-up. These are people that we’ve done business with in one way or another for many, many, many years. So the response has been great, and we all look forward to continuing positive conversations with them.

What would be the ideal outcome as far as conversations with the labels and larger music companies?

Prophet: We’ve received pledges before—money for a bunch of things that either didn’t happen or didn’t go to the people that really need it most. A lot of the time, money is caught up in bureaucracy. So for one, we have identified several organizations, some of which are artist-run foundations, through which that money can go directly to the people. Many people don’t give artists enough credit for a lot of the philanthropy work that they have been doing, and their foundations can use the funds to continue to expand their work. 21 Savage and Future both have incredible organizations, and Common has an initiative that he is launching too. So we have identified programs that need those resources, and a lot of times artists help create the funds that major companies are pledging, so they should be first in line to receive.

When it comes to specific inequities that you have personally either witnessed or experienced in the music industry, what are some issues that each of you want the BMAC to address?

Davis: I’ve been super fortunate and blessed with the trajectory of my personal path, but when I was first starting out, I was a college student at a HBCU—Dillard University in New Orleans—and one of my first gigs was interning for Voodoo Fest. My first year, I was one of the only Black interns, and the only one from my school, but Tulane was heavily represented. It wasn’t a negative experience, but an awakening experience. A lot of people think that if they just go to college, it’s going to set them up for life, but it’s harder at an HBCU. I want to set up programs at those schools and let them know: “This is the way in.”

Prophet: We want Black execs to have true access to power—to move beyond senior VP positions and really be in control—because even though Black music is taking over streaming platforms, that isn’t being reflected in the power structure of the music business. One personal issue I have with hip-hop contracts in particular is the fact that you have to do three or four mixtapes with major labels. It’s free music that goes out, it doesn’t count towards your album, and it’s just called “getting you hot.” Other genres don’t deal with that, but this is something that hip-hop artists—Black artists, for the most part—have to deal with.

Ayars: There are tons of young Black executives who are at these companies—creating the campaigns, coming up with the ideas, finding talent—who never get to those executive offices. For me, creating an infrastructure that allows for executive training and mentorship so that these junior executives can get an opportunity to sit in those executive seats, is really important.

Pitchfork: Does BMAC have a position on whether the designation of “urban,” which is increasingly seen as out-of-date if not racist, should be phased out of the music industry?

Prophet: The organization is still developing an official stance on that. But I would just say this: Titles are not the fight. It never has been. It’s about whether or not the senior VP of A&R for urban is receiving the same pay as the senior VP in any other genre. If you’re going to remove the title and not restore the pay disparity, what are we really talking about? Getting rid of “urban” and posting that you stand with your Black brothers and sisters in solidarity—all of those things are gestures that almost become distractions if we’re not dealing with the real issues.

Ayars: I completely agree. I’m always in the mindset of: more moves, less announcements. The important piece is: What is the change inside the building that represents the removal of the term “urban”? So are Black executives going to be able to work with white artists? Are they going to be able to work with pop artists? Are we going to have an opportunity to play across the board and not just be in the Black or urban department, only working Black projects? Are we going to be able to play across the field?

Pitchfork: What tangible steps do you think streaming services like Apple Music or Spotify could take to reduce inequity in their own companies and practices?

Davis: If you look at the charts, or playlists like RapCaviar, Black music is well represented; on the music side, DSPs do a better job. But if you look at the hiring side, that is the real issue. When we spoke to Spotify’s coalition, they told us the editorial side is only 300 people—so the actual number of people who work on music, globally, is only 300. We know the editors, but what does the whole other tech side look like? What are those hiring processes like?

Prophet: The culture is on fire, so Spotify is gonna have us in the playlists and celebrate us like that. But the problem is whether or not the Black execs within Spotify feel that—in their paychecks, in their power, in their ability to create and implement innovative ideas—and how high they’re able to climb. The DSPs have allowed the world to understand just how popular Black music is, because it’s not controlled by the radio. There’s a whole different culture and level of freedom that has allowed the world to understand, appreciate, and stream the hell out of Black music in ways that they hadn’t before. Because of that, Spotify—and everyone else—made a tremendous amount of money, quickly. But how much of that wealth is spread among the culture that produced it?

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork