Music business executive and diversity advocate Andy Edwards highlights some interesting nuances about the intersection of race and religion in attitudes to faith amongst the music industry workforce. This op ed is the personal view of the author.

I have been to plenty of music award shows honouring artist and executive talent, and one thing I have long observed is that when accepting an award, thanking God in an acceptance speech, and how we react to this often seems to reflect how well we understand one another on a human level.

It boils down to this: it is not uncommon for Black people to thank God when accepting an award, and it is also not uncommon that somewhere in the room, some White people will be sitting at a table being a little too cool for school. That could mean rolling their eyes, facial expressions that imply disapproval, or just sitting there looking a bit uncomfortable.

I put this bluntly because I know it to be true. I have seen it more times than I would like to be the case. Several Black friends in the industry have noticed this also, with all of them remarking along the lines of “what is that about?” 

Thanking God and how we react to this is one of the nuances of diversity and a litmus test of how inclusive we are as an industry.

This example might seem innocuous, but it is subtle inferences like this that can hide a more damaging prejudice. When I first wrote about music industry diversity after #BritsSoWhite in 2016, I recalled how a former work colleague once said of a Black candidate when recruiting for a role, “Hmmm, bible basher,” all because the person referred to some work they did for their local church during the interview. The candidate did not get the job.

There are some interesting numbers that shed light on these differing attitudes. Since 2016, UK Music has conducted a bi-annual survey of the music industry workforce. The headline figures are impressive. Respondents who identified as Black, Asian, and ethnically diverse collectively account for 25.2% of those who responded to the 2024 UK Music Diversity Survey, up from 15.6% in 2016. The music industry can be proud of the progress it has made, but there is more work to do, and while the point I raise may be uncomfortable reading, it is a good example of the kind of issue we can better understand and the numbers help us do that.

The workforce survey also contained a question about faith. It shows that, on the whole, the music industry workforce is an ungodly bunch, with 63.5% of respondents having no religion (or were agnostic or atheist), compared to 37.2% for the UK population as a whole and only 20.7% of respondents identified as Christian, compared to 46.2% for the population as a whole. Perhaps it is not surprising that people in a creative industry such as music are far more questioning of religion, especially those of us raised on Monty Python, John Lennon, and various alternative rock bands amongst others, but this is not the whole story.

Comparing responses to the faith question by ethnicity reveals big differences in the music industry’s attitude to faith. A massive 63.1% of Black respondents identified as Christian, compared to only 18.8% of White respondents, and only 15.8% of mixed-race respondents.

Furthermore, comparing the proportion of White people in the UK who identify as Christian with White people in music who do so shows a massive drop from 50.2% to 18.8%. In contrast, comparing the proportion of Black people in the UK who identify as Christian to those in music who do so shows a much smaller drop from 67.0% to 63.1%.

Whichever way you look it, the differences in attitudes to faith by ethnicity within the music industry are huge. I was expecting to see a big difference, but these figures show that Black people who work in music are more than three times as likely to identify as Christian as White people who work in music.

Full disclosure: I attended a Church of England school, but in adulthood church has mostly been weddings and funerals. I tick the Christian box, but I am very lowkey about it. My first experience of differing attitudes to faith was at university when a Nigerian friend chastised me over something I don’t recall by saying, and this bit I remember word for word, “Andy, your problem is that you do not know your bible. If you knew your bible, this would not be a problem for you. What is it with you British? You come over, colonise us, and ‘give’ us Christianity, and you do not even go to church yourselves!”

My friend, who is Igbo, was ironically referring to how British colonialism spread Christianity, often for reasons of exploitation rather than benevolence, in south-eastern Nigeria, only for it to then decline in the UK. This shift is part of a broader trend. There are now more Christians in Africa than in Europe (including Russia). It is also true that many Africans, particularly in Egypt and Sudan, adopted Christianity from the first Century AD, before it reached Britain and much of Europe. The point is that Africans (past and present) have made Christianity their own, and often with a vibrancy that is lacking in Europe.

In the UK, some Black churches have an entirely different approach that is more celebratory than a traditional Church of England service. According to one estimate, there are 250 Black-majority churches in Southwark alone. Black churches are often social networks for people of all ages, including people in music. Musicians, vocalists and songwriters have all honed their skills in Black Churches. I once introduced a DJ to a label executive, who already knew each other by sight because they attend the same church.

Religion is such a contentious subject and responsible for so much strife, but it is also a fertile ground for creativity. Questioning religion is valid, but can we also respect those, regardless of background, who find comfort, guidance, and community in their faith at the same time?

Significantly, the diversity survey questionnaire asked about people’s faith, not their religion. Perhaps this is key? Religion can be such a polarising concept, and, maybe, we should think about an individual’s faith rather than their religion. Faith is more personal and reflects basic human values and beliefs, rather than religious institutions and structures which can be loaded with a multitude of issues.

Misconceptions shadow almost every social interaction on some level, and they are multiplied by race, faith, and other protected characteristics. By communicating more, and understanding varied individual experiences, we build stronger bonds that help us become more inclusive as an industry.

Not all award shows are the same. At the MOBO Awards and the Young Music Boss Awards, not only do many recipients thank God in their speeches, but the audiences warmly accept them.

The music industry is doing well on diversity and still improving. It could do better on inclusion, and we can all contribute to that process. Keep listening, learning, and challenging each other without judging. That is something we can all celebrate.

© Andy Edwards

Andy Edwards is a music business executive whose professional experience covers artist management, record labels, rights acquisition, and digital marketing. Andy founded the Futures Group, an inclusive forum for young artists and music executives, and has written extensively on diversity, antiracism, and neurodiversity in the music industry. He authored two editions of Diversity In Cycling to address the lack of diversity in cycling.