Believe UK and MMM Presents: Everyday Racism Podcast
Hosted by Believe UK’s Chris Ogori, the series consists of five episodes featuring musicians: Poppy Ajudha, Grove, TAAHLIAH, Joel Culpepper and Sway. Alongside charities and equality campaigners: Love Music Hate Racism, Black Minds Matter and Black Lives in Music.
The podcast episodes are titled: New School Artist, Influence of Music, Class Barriers, Institutional vs Individual Racism and Old School Artist. We have currently released episodes one and two, with the audio of episode #3 releasing on Monday (18/10/2021) and the video on Friday (22/10/2021).
Episode #1: New School Artist - Poppy Ajudha
Episode #1 discusses how the music industry’s relationship with issues of race have changed over time, the obstacles being faced, and how these can be overcome.
Episode #2: Class Barriers - TAAHLIAH & Black Minds Matter
Episode #2 looks into entering and advancing in the music industry and how they intersect with Black, Asian, ethnic minority experiences, and how these impact upon mental health.
Believe and Music Minds Matter Presents: Everyday Racism has been launched with the aim of highlighting music industry issues, with a focus on racism. Providing a platform for musicians and industry players to voice their personal experiences and discuss how these issues can be tackled in the future.
Chris Ogori, from Believe UK, said: “Since the events of last year it’s become super necessary to have an open dialogue about racism and inequality within the music world – for both artists and executives. The main thing I’ve taken from conversations were that a lot of people were unaware of the environments people of Black and Asian descent had to work in. Conversations like these not only help with educating and informing the listeners but help us make the next grand step in order to create systematic change and equality. I’m highly appreciative for the support shown from Believe UK and Music Minds Matter to help create this platform but most importantly enabling me to have the chance to voice out and speak on previous experiences and traumas whilst unapologetically being myself – speaking boldly and proudly as a young Black executive within the music industry.”
Joe Hastings, head of music Minds Matter at Help Musicians, said: “Open conversations about racism and inequality are vital to an evolving society and hearing from a range of lived experiences helps us all to consider our thoughts and actions more deeply. We know that racism can have a profound impact on mental health and self-worth, so we were privileged to be invited by Believe to support the Everyday Racism series through our dedicated mental health service for the whole music industry, Music Minds Matter. We hope the podcasts over the coming weeks spark important conversations and for anyone who feels they need support to manage their own experiences, please do remember that Music Minds Matter is available 24/7 by calling 0808 802 8008.”
Believe UK want to form meaningful partnerships with all those involved in the podcast; it is viewed as an ongoing development project as opposed to a one-off event. Hoping that this will in turn contribute to/generate a wider industry discussion, resulting in action points that can be addressed, contributing to Believe UK’s drive to promote inclusivity in our industry.
