PPL partners with Action for Diversity & Development to tackle underrepresentation at senior levels

UK music licensing company PPL has today announced its partnership with independent empowerment body Action for Diversity & Development (ADD) with the aim of addressing underrepresentation at senior levels in the music industry.

The partnership will support music organisation employees with protected characteristics including race, gender, disability and religion. To do this, PPL will help with the start-up and outreach costs associated with the project, while ADD will work to remove barriers to opportunity for staff from underrepresented groups.

Kate Reilly, chief people officer at PPL, said: ‘PPL recognises that there is more that needs to be done. We hope that, by providing financial support to the organisation, ADD can support as many skilled professionals from underrepresented backgrounds as possible and lay the groundwork for more diverse leadership teams in the near future both within PPL and the wider UK music industry.’

As part of the partnership ADD will provide staff with experienced mentors from diverse communities, seminars, Q&As and career development workshops and assistance with recruiting for senior management roles.

Established in 2020, ADD began as part of the Alliance for Diversity in Music & Media (ADMM) which brought together executives to address the lack of diverse senior teams across the music industry. ADMM created the ‘Diversity Charter’ which was adopted by UK Music in 2012.

ADD’s Director, Danny Poku, said: ‘We know there is a long way to go and how critical it is to ensure that equity stays front of mind when the media noise relents, but this is an important start.’

Founded in 1934, PPL is the UK music industry’s collective management organisation, licensing recorded music when it is played in public, on TV, radio and on some online streaming services and ensuring that PPL members receive appropriate revenue.

PPL’s support of ADD is a part of its response to the Black Music Coalition’s five calls to action and the ten-point plan set out by UK Music’s diversity taskforce.

You can find out more about PPL here.