A research collaboration between the Musician's Union and the charity Help Musicians has revealed a distressing array of data that underlines many of the problems that disabled music-makers face on a daily basis. From a whopping average pay gap of £4,400 to high levels of discrimination in the workplace based on being openly disabled and the career obstacles that many face.
Building out of the Musician's Union and Help Musicians' first ever census this year, which recently highlighted many issues for people working in the music industry, not least gender-based discrimination, this new disability-focussed Insight Report discovered some alarming statistics.
88% of musicians who said they are open about being disabled (with some or all of the people they work with) have subsequently experienced discrimination based on their disability. 94% of those experiencing discrimination said it impacted their ability to work or advance their career progression.
The report also found that the average disability pay gap is a terribly high £4,400 this is based on a mean income of approximately £29,200 for disabled musicians and £33,600 for non-disabled musicians who earn the majority of their income from music. This further expands by £1,700 when taking into account musicians with mental health conditions and/ or neurodivergent profiles.
