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Strength in numbers: How firms are diversifying the workforce

When the global live music industry began its recovery from two years of lockdowns, many organisations found that their workforce had been significantly depleted. However, as a business that has often been criticised for its lack of diversity, a concerted effort began to try to improve the makeup of the teams of professionals behind the scenes that help artists go on tour and perform at festivals.

Forward-thinking companies and organisations have embraced the concept that a diverse workforce helps deliver a healthier balance sheet, as it better equips operators to cater for artists and fans from all walks of life while acknowledging that different people have different needs, both in the workplace and at live music events.

“Think about the differently abled community or those who are neurodivergent,” poses Lindsay LaBennett, Wasserman Group’s VP of impact and inclusion. “From an employer, they need a space where who they are naturally is accepted and appreciated. So, if you are on the spectrum – say being social takes too much energy out – you should be able to come to work and not have to go to the happy hour, not have to participate, because you do your best work when you aren’t having to be social.”

A 14-year staffer at Wasserman, LaBennett has been working in her DEI role for the past four years, but her interest in inclusive business practices and equity-based initiatives dates back to 2016.

“We have a diverse roster – it’s not cookie-cutter music: we have a mix of people, and we need our staff to reflect that”

“For me, it was the Colin Kaepernick situation that caused an internal shift,” she tells IQ. “I wanted to be part of the solution for Wasserman when it comes to making sure we are advocating for communities and that we are addressing our own inclusivity gaps. I was doing this internally since 2016, but at the end of 2020, I created the role that I’m in now.”

Describing that development as “staff-driven and corporate stamped,” LaBennett recalls that various colleagues were calling for DEI to become a priority. “We had people across our business saying that we needed someone whose role was to focus on it 100% of the time. And our leadership, Casey Wasserman, completely agreed.”

Such employee-driven demand is a common thread among the companies IQ spoke to for this report. “AEG worldwide has made DEI a corporate priority, appointing a DEI director that leads its efforts,” explains Samantha Fernandez, VP of global partnerships at AEG Presents. “However, it has had a number of employee network groups for far longer, which have highlighted and created spaces for various employees.” Those network groups include Pride AEG, of which Fernandez is the executive sponsor.

But it’s not just the multinational corporations that are making moves to improve the makeup of their staff, as Hilary Walsh, general manager at London-based agency Pure Represents, attests. “This is our third year in operation, and we are now a team of 15 people,” she states. “Angus [Baskerville], and his wife, Jodie Harkins, who set the company up, worked very hard on their planning for diversity in the workplace because we have a diverse roster – it’s not cookie-cutter music: we have a mix of people, and we need our staff to reflect that. As a result, we really strived to hire people from different backgrounds, so that when our artists come into our office, they’re able to see a diverse bunch of people who are working on their behalf.”

“Our success is how our fans and how our communities look at us”

She adds, “We’re not just diverse in terms of ethnicity, it’s in ages as well. We have an intern who came to us through Small Green Shoots and she’s brilliant. She’s 22 years old, so she has her finger on the pulse, and she comes at it from a completely different background and train of thought. That diversity in age is something that we actively look for when we recruit, because if we all like the same kind of music, nothing’s going to change.”

Multiple Benefits
Fostering diversity in the workplace doesn’t just help with A&R activities, as the positive impact it can have when dealing with consumers is having a major effect on hiring practices for those sectors that are fan-facing.

Launched in late 2015 with an employee count of just six people, Oak View Group’s impact on the global venues business has been nothing short of seismic, with a current headcount of close to 50,000, “And we’re on our way to 60,000 probably before the end of the year,” says chief people & culture officer, Ann Jackson.

Stressing the importance of having a diverse workforce, Jackson says, “Our success is how our fans and how our communities look at us. We can build buildings or manage buildings or provide services, but if the people think we don’t look like or represent their community, or don’t share the same feel or vibe, that’s not success. So, it’s important to our business model that we can get out there and be very intentional on our hiring process.”

“The language that we use in job postings and adverts has become more crucial than ever”

That sentiment is echoed by others in the venues sector. “We have a really strong local presence in the cities where we operate, with the majority of our staff coming from the immediate area,” says Lee Bayman, ASM Global’s HR director for Europe. “We’re going through a process of building our talent team at the moment, and what I hear in a lot of the interviews is that the candidates are existing customers, which is super positive, especially as I know that our existing employees also continue to be customers at our venues.”

He notes that ASM Global is currently updating its systems and processes to help with recruitment, with DEI being central to those manoeuvres. “There’s a lot of underground work that we need to do, and it’s not glamourous, but it’s essential to provide us with the tools that we need to then go on to the likes of social media to help with our recruitment drives,” he explains.

Elsewhere, Bayman says that advertising in trans publications and Pride magazines is helping broaden the search for new employees. “I don’t think we particularly struggle to get the message out in this industry, as live events are an open door to everyone. But the language that we use in job postings and adverts has become more crucial than ever, as we try to give people a feeling of what the culture is at ASM Global.”

Noting that Pure Represents uses specialist recruitment consultants, Walsh says the company also relies on trade publications to communicate about job vacancies.

“We’re always mining for where else we can find people: What are their locations? What other organisations can we get into partnership with?”

“We will advertise in the usual suspects of IQ Magazine and Music Week to reach a target bunch of people that we know want to work in music. If I put an ad in [the mainstream press], it might not achieve that goal,” says Walsh. “We’ve also had success advertising with Black Lives in Music, but finding all the right avenues is tricky, so we’re always open to hearing about new places where we can connect with a wider target audience.”

Walsh adds, “Being small and independent, we can choose who we work with to reach a diverse target audience. And that’s why working with a company like Small Green Shoots is really beneficial because they came with a whole selection of CVs to choose from.”

Detailing the OVG strategy for finding new staff, Jackson says, “Our head of talent acquisition and our head of DEI work very closely together to make sure that we’re always mining for where else we can find people: What are their locations? What other organisations can we get into partnership with?”

And with the venue conglomerate entering markets in the likes of Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, education about cultural differences is hot on the agenda for the OVG recruitment teams.

“What really moves the needle is when we have our cis straight allies coming to the table”

“We need to make sure we understand the local culture by trying not to only have an American-centric view of everything,” stresses Jackson. “We try to make sure our Oak View Group values align with the local culture by talking to local people and engaging local HR professionals as well.”

Taking the Middle East as an example, Jackson says, “We need to learn what employee expectations are beyond the employment laws. From an employee experience perspective, we want Oak View Group to be a great thing in the Middle East, with our employees as our ambassadors, so it requires a lot of research and listening to our local partners.”

Education
DEI training is also becoming more important internally at companies working in live entertainment, and numerous specialist consultants and organisations now offer guidance and tuition on aspects such as inclusive language and behaviour.

For her part, Fernandez believes that training needs to start with senior management. “What really moves the needle is when we have our cis straight allies coming to the table,” she tells IQ. “When a boss starts using gender-neutral references to their partner, it really makes a huge difference. That’s started to happen quite a bit at AEG, which has a lot to do with these education programmes, and diversity training – when you highlight it, it really does start to make its way through.”

“Not everyone is a behemoth like Wasserman, but there are small things that we can all do every day to be more equitable”

Externally, Fernandez reports that AEG has developed a long-standing relationship with the LGBTQ Center. “Our ‘Pride at AEG’ group has spent time there in various ways, including a recent career session where we brought folks from all divisions of AEG to a moderated panel where young people were able to fire questions at us. The idea was to give them an idea of the various roles that exist in entertainment. I oversee brand partnerships – a job I didn’t know existed when I was younger. So we need to tell young people that there are careers out there for them.”

That scenario also rings true for Walsh. “Growing up, I never knew there were jobs like a music agent or a lighting designer. It would be amazing if we got to a place where career guidance at schools might involve real live examples of people speaking to the pupils: ‘I am an agent, and this is what an agent does.’ If we were able to engage with high-school-aged people, that’s where we could find the most diverse array of potential new recruits.”

In terms of outreach, LaBennett tells IQ that Wasserman Group has historic relationships with Black colleges and Hispanic-serving institutions. “We partner with them with the intention of bringing our expertise to the students, because having people [from the industry] visit college campuses is so much more meaningful than just reading books or listening to lectures or podcasts.”

But she is cognisant that the resources of the corporate world should be used to help the wider sports and entertainment sectors. “We’re aware that a lot of smaller companies don’t have the resources or budget, but we want to educate them and say, ‘Don’t let those be hurdles to being equitable.’ Not everyone is a behemoth like Wasserman, but there are small things that we can all do every day to be more equitable.”

“Our main focus is creating safe spaces for the LGBTIQ+ community to connect with each other”

Under the Microscope
With Pride month events filling the calendar over the next few weeks, companies operating in the live entertainment sector are acutely aware that the makeup of their workforce is being scrutinised by event attendees and the talent who entertain them.

Detailing some of AEG’s Pride initiatives, Fernandez says, “Our main focus is creating safe spaces for the LGBTIQ+ community to connect with each other – and that also goes for our LGBTIQ+ staff and allies.

“AEG is an official sponsor of LA Pride, and we have a quite a large presence there. And then we do various internal events throughout the year. Last year, for instance, we screened a documentary by the Trevor Project and had a Q&A afterwards.”

However, noting that it can be difficult for some people to talk about their identity, Fernandez observes, “It’s not often that you’ll interview somebody and they’ll say, ‘Hi, I’m part of the LGBTIQ+ community.’ That’s a really interesting challenge – how to ensure we are casting a wide net when it comes to hiring, as it relates to the LGBTIQ+ community, but still wanting to protect people’s identity if they want it protected.”

“I think folks are expecting some kind of sort of visible commitment to diversity”

When it comes to recruitment, ASM’s Bayman observes that job candidates are more assertive than ever, asking probing questions of HR professionals in terms of DEI policies, sustainability, and staff support structures.

“It’s important to use the recruitment process to help people understand what your company culture is, but you also need to be prepared to be transparent and honest about what their role might be, both when it’s crazily busy and when it’s a quiet day, otherwise people start working for you and the reality is nowhere near what they might have expected,” he says.

Homing in on the kinds of proactive elements that can entice people from all walks of life to consider live music as a career path, Fernandez says, “I can speak mostly to the LGBTIQ+ community, of which I am a part. I think folks are expecting some kind of sort of visible commitment to diversity, both in the events that we do and the lineups that we book.

“There was a lot of press that came out of Coachella this year about the number of female queer artists, which was amazing to see. For our employee base, those kinds of things bring us a lot of, for lack of a better word, pride.”

“In the time that I’ve been at AEG, the leave policy for a non-carrying parent, and for a carrying parent more than tripled in both cases”

Fernandez applauds her employer for listening and reacting to the needs of staff. “In the time that I’ve been at AEG, the leave policy for a non-carrying parent, and for a carrying parent more than tripled in both cases. For somebody who is in a same-sex partnership, and who has both carried children and been a non-carrying parent, it really made a huge difference for our family.”

At Wasserman, LaBennett comments, “In my experience, what people need from their employer is to be able to show up authentically and to have a space where they feel a sense of belonging – they want to see other people that look like them. Imagine having a disability and when you come to work you see someone else with that same disability: there’s an instant connection and instant community. Whether you are Black, Hispanic, Asian, part of the queer community, you want to see people who are walking your walk.”

Results
While endeavouring to build truly diverse teams is crucial to 21st-century commerce, establishing protocols to measure company progress can be a difficult proposition.

“We do employee testimonials to ask how they feel about new things we implement. So we’ll check-in with people three months down the line to gauge opinions as a kind of measure,” says Jackson of some of OVG’s efforts to track DEI results.

“At the end of the day, if we’re not making a difference, what are we doing?”

“We attach it to competencies within our performance management. Have we seen an increase in our hiring? Have we seen diversity improvement among suppliers coming to work at OVG? So, where we have data, we collect it to figure out ‘is this good enough for us?’ To be honest, so far, it’s not, but we’re giving ourselves grace because we know that we are committed to it.”

Fernandez notes that AEG carries out attitude-based surveys, quizzing staff if they feel connected to the work environment and if they feel their identity is being celebrated. Meanwhile, the company’s DEI and HR teams calculate changes in workforce demographics on an annual basis.

For a smaller company like Pure Represents, results are easier to assess. “We just need to look around the office to see the results,” says Walsh. “We heavily promote inclusion as one of Pure’s fundamental principles. So, when we have A&R meetings, for example, we invite marketing, we invite the intern, and everyone is encouraged to share their thoughts on the artists that we’re talking about. You can do that when you’re 15 people. If you’re in an office of 200 people, you may have less of a voice.”

Agreeing on the importance of monitoring progression in building diverse teams, LaBennett says, “We’re constantly challenging ourselves to come up with creative [key performance indicators] and metrics because, at the end of the day, if we’re not making a difference, what are we doing?”

“In order to get your bonus or to get promoted, there’s a DEI behaviour that we’re looking for”

One Wasserman-related yardstick she points to involves its college music business programme. “It boils down to whether we are able to hire the students: Did they secure an internship? After they secured an internship, were they offered full-time employment? If we’re able to say Wasserman hired eight interns, and of those eight, four of them are returning and two of them are getting full-time jobs, that’s a metric that matters.”

Indeed, in a move designed to ensure that those results continue to improve, Wasserman has integrated DEI participation into every employee’s performance review. “In order to get your bonus or to get promoted, there’s a DEI behaviour that we’re looking for,” explains LaBennett.

“That might be something as simple as working with a Black-owned caterer when you’re hosting an event. Or if you are going to go speak to college students, making sure you include people that are neurodivergent. There has to be some sort of element of your work that is equitable and inclusive.”

Challenges
While real strides are being taken across the live music entertainment business to fill vacancies with individuals from marginalised groups, the task facing recruiters is not without its difficulties.

OVG’s Jackson comments, “Underrepresented people, whatever group they’re part of, want to be valued. It’s our task to understand what is important to them, whether it’s through their culture or religion or whatever group they’re part of, and we need to show a value to that, rather than discount them or being deaf to them.

“This industry has historically been led by white males – and it still is – but the employees we’re hiring now need to be given the confidence that [they] will one day be the industry’s leaders. We want them to be leaders in 15, 20 years, and we will try to put things in place to let them see that we’re supporting that for real and that they have a long-term home here.”

“Being able to stick with it is crucial, because results are not immediate”

Considering career progression, LaBennett flags up staff retention as an ongoing battle. “It’s hugely important because career growth usually comes when you’ve been here for a while, then you get elevated to senior director or vice president. But, if we’re not able to retain that talent in the first place, that’s going to negatively impact our diversity ambitions.”

LaBennett also highlights empathy fatigue as a real challenge in the drive to embrace DEI initiatives. “In 2020, the world was revved up about the need to be more equitable and the need to help certain communities,” she recalls.

“Basically, we’re talking about biases – race and gender and sexuality and religion in the workplace – and 15 years ago, we weren’t doing that. Matter of fact, we were consciously staying away from it.

“Being able to stick with it is crucial, because results are not immediate. With DEI work, we’re sowing seeds and then we’re watering the seeds and then getting the sun to come in. But we won’t bear that fruit anytime soon.”

Work in (Good) Progress
As companies throughout the sector meet potential new employees who fully expect favourable DEI terms – often before they even agree to attending a job interview, those key policies are becoming essential throughout the industry, as suppliers and contractors are also being urged to step up their game.

“The bottom line is the more diverse a team you have, the more diverse the clients you’re going to attract”

“We have, like, a very robust supplier diversity programme here in the States,” Oakview Group’s Jackson reveals. “We gather data on suppliers, we measure that, and we set goals on how we want to grow, year over year.”

Pure’s Walsh observes, “At interview level, we find that potential employees often have read the ‘people and planet’ section on our website, where we outline our policies on diversity and sustainability. They also take a keen interest in our links to Earth Percent, Small Green Shoots and Black Lives in Music, the interviewee looks at the company holistically and its culture – it’s no longer just about the salary offered.”

LaBennett states, “The bottom line is the more diverse a team you have, the more diverse the clients you’re going to attract. If you go to a music festival right now, you’re not seeing one kind of person: you’re seeing a myriad of people from different backgrounds. If we aren’t recog- nising that those are the ultimate people that our artists are trying to reach, then we’re failing.”

Walsh concludes, “Every day is a school day – there’s constantly new challenges, and what worked last week might no longer work this week. But so long as everyone is open to that, and open to learning, then I think we’re going in the right direction.”

 


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