Latch Explores: British Asian Identity in the Music Industry with Asha Gold
Some of you reading this may know that last year we launched our companion record label, Bad Key, and after a little bit of brainstorming, we decided that it would be the perfect home to platform British Asian creativity. As the label’s manager Alex Treharne shares, “I started Bad Key in order to platform contemporary sounds from artists across the Asian diaspora in the UK. I want to show that the audience for Asian artists isn’t limited and that you can have multiple Asian artists on your roster without compromising on opportunity. I’m also really passionate when it comes to international audiences, fans are incredibly valuable regardless of their location and yet Asian audiences have been viewed as ‘other’ traditionally in the West. I grew up with a genetic connection to both the UK and Malaysia, and I want to explore that culture blend in all its beauty and complexity through Bad Key.”
While British Asians make up the second largest ethnic group in the UK (4.2 million people in England and Wales according to the 2011 census), there’s a lack of representation throughout all industries, the entertainment and music sectors included. In 2020, UK Music’s workforce diversity survey took data from almost 3,670 staff from major and independent record labels, music publishers, managers, producers, royalty-collection societies and the live music industry. The survey found Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority representation in the workforce to be 22.3%, which was higher than the figure for the UK population as a whole at time, but therein lies the issue raised by many around blanket terms like BAME, POC and the grouping together hugely diverse and broad groups. This labelling all too easily skips over the needs of individual ethnic groups and highlights the limited thinking on the side of policy makers. For example, when speaking with the BBC, actor Nicole Miners shared her annoyance: "Being a British East Asian actor, or just a person, this was something that really aggravated me. The 'A' in 'BAME' means Asian, which, in itself, is a very broad term. Does it mean 'South Asian', 'East Asian', 'South East Asian', 'Indian', 'Pakistani', 'Chinese', 'Thai', 'Vietnamese'? The list goes on. It misleads people into thinking that everyone who isn't white English should come under the term 'BAME'. And on top of that, I'm mixed, which, for me, is even more confusing."
The UK Music survey also found an incremental drop-off in diversity through the progression into senior roles and older age groups, meaning that only one in five senior positions are filled by Black, Asian or other ethnic minority professionals, and the exact breakdown of the numbers regarding each ethnic group escapes us once again. Undoubtedly, there are positive strides forward, especially in entry-level positions and amongst younger people in the industry, but considering that there were 190,000 employees of the music industry in 2020 (The Guardian), the majority of whom were not surveyed, we have to take these findings with a grain of salt.
You only have to sidestep the statistics and simplified graphs to find subjective experiences like those explored in Malvika Padin’s article for Gal-dem in which she delved into the lack of representation of South Asian women in UK music. It was only last year that global sensation Rina Sawayama (a Japanese national with an indefinite leave to remain in Britain) was barred from being nominated for The Brits and the Mercury Prize due to her lack of British citizenship. As she told BBC News, "It was just heartbreaking. I think a lot of immigrants feel this way - where they assimilate and they become part of the British culture... and to be told that we're not even eligible to be nominated is very othering." Thanks to Sawayama speaking out and the public outcry that followed, BPI have since changed the rules to allow British residents of five years or more to enter the awards.
As UK Music chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said upon the release of UK Music’s latest report, “If our music industry is to tell the story of modern-day Britain, then it needs to look like modern-day Britain too.” We agree with that sentiment and so over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing the opinions, thoughts and experiences of music professionals to go beyond the numbers and to begin to uncover what British Asian representation in the music industry means to those that identify as such.
Since it all started with Bad Key’s flagship artist Asha Gold, that’s exactly who we’ll be hearing from first.
Tell us about yourself and your role in the music industry.
My name is Asha Gold and I’m a singer-songwriter based in London.
What do you think about the representation of British Asian people in the music industry right now?
Ever since I started pursuing this career path, one of my main ambitions has been to contribute to a greater representation of British Asians in creative industries. Growing up, I didn’t see many Anglo-Indian women on 'Top of the Pops', I didn’t hear them on the radio, and I didn’t see them sell out shows at the o2. I believe that this is changing through my generation of musicians, in which we see artists such as Joy Crookes expressing their South Asian heritage proudly through enchanting visuals or traditional lengha dress on the red carpet. I am motivated by my aspiration to be a key part of that change.
Which platforms do you think are doing a great job at highlighting British Asians in contemporary music culture?
I think certain online platforms and communities such as GUAP Magazine and Gal-dem are leading the way in their spotlighting of British Asian creatives and questions of culture and identity. I’d love to see further inclusivity on key platforms such as YouTube, and more illuminating channels (as the BBC Asian Network) across digital streaming platforms and other radio stations.
Keep up to date with Asha Gold:
Instagram
Spotify
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