AIF teams up with MU to support disabled musicians

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has announced that it will endorse the Musicians’ Union (MU) Access Rider scheme in its membership to raise awareness about the scheme and aim to make access riders a music industry standard.

The Access Rider scheme uses the already established format of a performer rider (a document stating the requirements of an artist for a performance) to outline a performer’s disability or access needs and circumvent the challenge of talking about accessibility at work.

AIF CEO John Rostron said: ‘AIF member festivals want to be inclusive, accessible spaces for audiences, crew and artists alike. Raising standards and improving practice is a constant within our work, and we’re confident that this training and information sharing session, as well as the communication to members on this topic, will help during this festival season and through festivals and events to come.’

The Access Rider scheme is a result of findings from research led by Harbourside Artist Management. A survey conducted by the organisation in 2021 revealed that 88% of people working in the music industry who identified as having a disability or long-term health condition ‘sometimes’ or ‘never’ disclosed the impairment or condition to those who they work with, and 69% of this group said it put their health at risk.

The MU’s Access Rider was created by disabled musicians to make it safer for disabled artists to disclose health conditions and impairments and make sure their access needs are met. The Union is working with AIF and disability-led charity Attitude is Everything to make access riders a music industry standard. Later this week (5 June) MU Member and Cheltenham Festivals innovation manager Andrew Lansley will present a webinar explaining the Access Rider scheme and its importance for musicians and festivals.

The scheme has been ‘transformational’ for Lansley as a disabled musician. He said: ‘It has completely changed how I experience performance, and it really helps event organisers understand exactly what you need onstage. I have made it a personal mission to help as many venues, festivals and musicians to benefit from this simple and effective solution as possible.’