racism affects all spheres of society, including the music industry. Brilliant Black artists have been systematically erased from history, while the white musicians who influenced them have received all the credit: in rock and roll, for example, Elvis Presley is called the King of Rock, but the style owes its existence to names like Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Chuck Berry.
A study conducted by Black Lives in Music in the United Kingdom reveals alarming data about the presence of racism within the music industry, with statistics and accounts from various Black artists and music professionals, as reported by Far Out Magazine .
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A woman interviewed for the study reported the misogyny and racism that still exist among heavy metal fans, despite the essential contribution of Rosetta, considered the Mother of Rock, to the genre. “[They tell me] 'Black women can't play rock,' [they make] sexual comments about the size of my lips, racial comments about my 'crazy and rebellious' afro hair, etc. I don't pay attention to those comments anymore, but I believe it's important to inform people about it,” she said.
Even the exceptional talent of Black artists is used against them by the industry. While white artists who “look like the Beatles or Oasis ” are embraced, the expectation for Black artists is unfair, and nothing seems to be enough, as another account explains. “Black music is always seen as something that needs to be 'original' and unprecedented. (…) If you are Black and play guitar, they say you look like Jimi Hendrix – this has been done before,” he said.
The data collected by the research confirms the experiences of these artists: 86% of Black musicians agree that there are barriers caused by race to grow in the music industry; 63% of Black musicians have been victims of direct racism, and 43% of Black women in the industry have been instructed to change their appearance, directly or indirectly, to have a chance in their music career.
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