Black Music Action Coalition Criticises Industry Layoffs in New Statement
The Black Music Action Coalition has spoken out over a new round of layoffs and restructuring across the music business. It warned that cost-cutting must not erase progress on diversity or sideline the executives who helped build it.
In a statement reported by Billboard on Oct. 19, the group said “restructuring should not erase decades of profitable progress or come at the cost of dignity and institutional knowledge.” It said it was “troubled by reports that entire divisions have been eliminated without meaningful conversations with the leaders who built them.”
The statement follows changes at UMG. Def Jam chairman and chief executive Tunji Balogun, Interscope Geffen A&M executive Nicole Wyskoarko and co-president Sam Riback were among the high-profile executives laid off in the company’s label division restructuring. At MCA Nashville, the cuts included chief operating officer Rob Femia and senior vice president of promotion and regional marketing Miranda McDonald. Separately, Republic Records chief executive Jim Roppo left UMG to become vice chairman at Warner Records.
The Coalition called for departing leaders to be treated with respect. “Dignity and acknowledgement should be extended to everyone,” it said. The timing struck a chord for the group. Wyskoarko had received its inaugural Sylvia Rhone Visionary Award on Sept. 24, less than a month before the statement.
On jobs and access, the Coalition said Black executives, women and other underrepresented professionals still face barriers to sustainable leadership roles at major music companies. It added: “A diverse workplace is a profitable business strategy, not charity.” That line goes to the heart of its argument. Diversity is framed as good business, not goodwill.
BMAC co-founder Willie “Prophet” Stiggers said the industry faces a choice. “The music industry is at a defining moment,” he said. Decisions made now will determine who has access, who holds power and who shapes the future of the business. Stiggers also pointed to the tens of millions of dollars pledged to advance racial equity in the industry. He asked what might have changed if more of that money had gone toward protecting career pathways and building economic security for Black and Brown professionals.
Co-founder Shawn Holiday spoke in personal terms. It is disheartening, he said, to see fewer Black executives in leadership positions. It is also disheartening to see Black music divisions disappearing from companies that benefited from Black culture.
The Coalition is an organisation of artists, managers, lawyers and music executives. It says it was formed to create a unified force for racial equity and justice within the music industry.
