The BMRU’s Mykaell Riley has contributed to a game changing new report into the Black-British music industry. The Black Music Means Business report, spearheaded by the UK Music Diversity Taskforce, concluded that Black music contributes centrally to the UK’s musical economy, but is simultaneously significantly limited by a lack of opportunities forwarded to new artists. It also takes the first steps to thoroughly map genres of Black music, showing the ways in which Black music has permeated almost every UK musical genre, and mapping the total economic benefit facilitated by these influences. Prof. Mykaell Riley both acted as consultant for the report and was interviewed on the topic in The Guardian. Speaking to The Guardian’s Sinéad Campbell, Prof. Riley said of the report: “What makes the report special is recognising that the DNA of black music is not just who’s creating it, but it’s the long tail of influence”.
You can read the report here. Prof. Riley’s comments to The Guardian can be found here.