TORONTO — A report on the experiences of Black music artists and professionals details myriad racial and financial barriers they've faced in the Canadian industry and calls for mentorship and structural change.
The Council said that in 2023-24, grants were awarded to 67 out of 247 music artists who self-identified as Black, representing a success rate of 27.1 per cent, which is higher than the overall success rate of 23.7 per cent. Advance executive director Keziah Myers, whose organization works to improve, promote and better retain Black employees and partners in the music industry, said the report's findings show Canada's music industry struggles with"unconscious and conscious bias."
Myers said there is a lack of education about grant applications in Black communities and many applicants feel discouraged to apply for grants by what they perceive to be low success rates. The report says music created, produced or influenced by Black people in genres including jazz, R&B and hip-hop accounted for 65 per cent of streams on Apple Music and Spotify from 2019 to 2022.
"I heard one the other day from one of our members who said, 'I just talked to someone in the industry and he told me that I needed to straighten my hair and look more white,'" Myers said.