Diverse teams not only lead to better workplace cultures, they’re delivering business results. A recent survey by LinkedIn found that 60% of respondents said that diversity had contributed to the team success.
Another report by People Management found that diverse teams were 87% better at making decisions.
However, the music industry is trailing behind in its diversity and inclusion policies. Across 70 major and independent music companies, just 13.9% of top executives were from under-represented racial or ethnic groups, 4.2% were Black, and 13.9% were women.
Phonographic Performance (PPL) which won the gold in the Diversity & Inclusion category at the UK Employee Experience Awards 2024, has been making inclusivity a core part of its ‘music comes first’ attitude.
“At PPL, we ensure that the mantra ‘music comes first’ is deeply ingrained in our culture by aligning our EDI [equality, diversity and inclusion] and wellbeing strategies with the core value that music unites us all,” explains Tomi Oyewumi, senior EDI and wellbeing manager.
With a passion for music, an impactful environment is fostered, “where music is celebrated as a universal language that connects everyone,” says Oyewumi.
The pillars of PPL’s EDI strategy
PPL’s EDI strategy is built on four key pillars — inclusion, diversity, championing, and impact.
The music licensing firm has put in place a plethora of initiatives, targets, workshops and celebrations, designed to continuously foster diverse and inclusive attitudes. These have been introduced to cover all areas of diversity — neurodiversity, religion, race, sexuality, gender and much more.
For example, PPL established the Black Employee Network Group in 2021, serving as a dedicated space for Black employees on all levels of the business to connect and collaborate.
A similar support group has been created for neurodivergent employees to share their experiences and provide valuable insights.
PPL managers are given guides on how to support their colleagues who observe Ramadan. Maternity leave and shared parental paid leave have also increased.
Recruitment processes have been revised with diverse interview panels introduced. It has also partnered with Leonard Chesire to focus on connecting diverse talent with career opportunities to support all.
“Cultivating a positive culture at PPL has been a priority, and we’ve seen a number of programmes implemented internally,” Oyewumi shared.
PPL has launched industry standards that it claims will be influential for the entire music sector.
The firm hosted the first ever UK Music Diversity Summit in 2015 and has worked with UK Music on its diversity programmes, industry surveys and reports since then. PPL also runs the PPL Momentum Music Fund for musicians through the PRS Foundation. The fund has supported the creation of 275 albums, over 300 UK tours, and more than 1,600 live dates. This includes Mercury Prize nominated albums including this year’s winner English Teacher.
Over half of recipients in the last ten years have come from Black, Asian, and other ethnically diverse backgrounds.
Oyewumi shared that one of PPL’s key achievement for the industry is discontinuing “the term ‘urban’ in favour of more inclusive language, [and] avoiding acronyms such as BAME [Black, Asian, Minority and Ethnic].”
Leading EDI policies with employees at the heart
PPL has its own employee-led diversity forum, which meets quarterly. The group gives “employees a voice in shaping PPL’s EDI strategies and objectives,” Oyewumi explained.
By using internal voices to keep the organisation accountable for its diversity and inclusion drive, PPL ensures it it is reflecting its workforce’s needs and experiences.
The music licensing company is committed to achieving 50/50 gender representation by 2027. “Our strategy includes boosting female representation in management and technical roles, as well as implementing policies that support gender equity,” Oyewumi shared.
“These actions are part of a broader commitment to create an inclusive environment where gender equity is prioritised and supported at all levels of the organisation.” Oyewumi said.
PPL has achieved consistently high levels of employee satisfaction with its EDI strategy.
“The high percentage figures in the 2023 [employee satisfaction] survey are encouraging and suggest that we are continuing to make positive strides as an organisation,” commented Oyewumi.
“Key questions, such as ‘my manager genuinely cares about equity, diversity, and inclusion’, scored 6% higher than the external benchmark and ‘PPL’s commitment to EDI is genuine,’ was 14% above the external benchmark.” he added.
It is clear that PPL are committed to build a culture that increasingly values and prioritises diversity and inclusion internally, as well as making an impact on the larger music industry.