Over 700 music industry figures have signed the letter.
Figures from across the music industry, including A.G. Cook, Arca, Jessie Ware and Nile Rogers, have signed an open letter decrying racism. The #NoSilenceInMusic campaign’s letter has been signed by more than 700 members of the music industry, including songwriters, publishers, producers and agents as well as artists.
The letter arrives in the midst of ongoing conversations about racial disparity in the music industry in the wake of the resurgent Black Lives Matter movement and shortly after grime MC Wiley was banned from Twitter after posting a series of anti-Semitic tweets. The letter’s signatories have also pledged to tackle the problems of “islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia” as well as racism.
In response to these issues, the signatories, who also include The 1975, Little Mix and Goldie, pledge to “take responsibility, to speak out and stand together in solidarity… to educate and wipe out racism now and for our future generations.”
Read the #NoSilenceInMusic letter below and see the full list of signatories on Medium.
We, representatives from the music industry, write to demonstrate and express our determination, that love, unity and friendship, not division and hatred, must and will always be our common cause.
In recent months through a series of events and incidents, the anti-black racists and antisemites, plus those who advocate islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia, have repeatedly demonstrated that they clearly want us all to fail. Whether it be systemic racism and racial inequality highlighted by continued police brutality in America or anti-Jewish racism promulgated through online attacks, the result is the same: suspicion, hatred and division. We are at our worst when we attack one another.
Minorities from all backgrounds and faiths have struggled and suffered. From slavery to the Holocaust we have painful collective memories. All forms of racism have the same roots — ignorance, lack of education and scapegoating. We, the British music industry are proudly uniting to amplify our voices, to take responsibility, to speak out and stand together in solidarity. Silence is not an option
There is a global love for music, irrespective of race, religion, sexuality and gender. Music brings joy and hope and connects us all. Through music, education and empathy we can find unity. We stand together, to educate and wipe out racism now and for our future generations.
