Sony Music UK and Warner Music UK have joined streaming giant Spotify in voluntarily reporting their gender pay gap figures.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, UK companies are not obliged to report their gender pay gap figures for 2019 this year. But several companies have issued an update on their gender pay gap based on a snapshot in April 2019.
Universal Music UK, Kobalt and PRS For Music have not issued any figures. You can see the latest results from other companies below.
Sony Music UK
Sony Music achieved a median pay gap of 1.3% in 2018, but the latest figures for 2019 have seen the major slip back to a median pay gap of 9.1%. The mean pay gap at Sony is 26%, up from 20.9%.
At Sony, women occupy 42% of the highest paid jobs and 60% of the lowest paid jobs. The median bonus pay gap is 15.6%, compared to a mean bonus pay gap of 53.9%.
The official figures show that 71.2% of men received a bonus, compared to 64.2% of women.
Sony has not issued any statement on its figures.
Warner Music UK
In the first set of figures for 2017, Warner had a poor set of results – a mean pay gap of 49% and a median pay gap of 21%.
Since then, the major has made improvements, with a mean pay gap of 38.7% for 2018, although the median pay gap widened to 23.1%.
For 2019, Warner Music UK’s median pay gap is down to 18.2%, while the mean pay gap has fallen to 31.5%.
Warner reported that 34% of the highest paid jobs and 52% of the lowest paid jobs are occupied by women.
On bonus pay, the median pay gap is 35.3% and the mean bonus pay gap is 69.3%. The figures show that 75% of women received a bonus, compared to 87% of men.
In a statement, Tony Harlow, CEO, Warner Music UK, and Masha Osherova, EVP and chief human resources officer, Warner Music Group, said: “Building a company that’s diverse and inclusive is a priority for everyone at Warner Music UK. So, even though we didn’t have to report our Gender Pay Gap this year, it was important to us that we continued to be transparent and hold ourselves accountable.
“This year’s numbers continue to show progress for the second year running. That said, we recognise that we’re still falling short and there’s plenty of work to be done.
“We’ve made further headway since then; 61% of our new starters in the last year have been women, up 8% on the previous year. But many of these hires were in the lower-paid quartiles of our company, so that’s one reason why we’re offering more training and support to help our people flourish.
“One example is The Leadership Essential Programme, a new compulsory scheme for all our managers, which stresses the need to put equality at the heart of their strategic thinking and day-to-day work. Through our recent Lived Experience programme, we’ve also worked with outside experts to get frank and honest feedback about our company culture. These insights will shape our response on the next steps of the journey. Music is an incredibly vibrant and eclectic art form, and we are committed to building a team that is passionate about our artists, culturally curious and dynamic and diverse in every sense.”
Spotify UK
Spotify revealed its gender pay gap figures for the first time last year as its headcount passed 250 in the UK. Spotify had an 11.6% mean gender pay gap and a 16.8% median pay gap, based on 2018 figures. The bonus gap was 19.7% (mean).
The results for 2019 show the median gender pay gap down to 14.4%. The mean gender pay gap fell below 10% (9.9%).
At Spotify, women occupy 36% of the highest paid jobs and 48.8% of the lowest paid jobs.
Spotify has a median bonus pay gap in favour of women (0.2%). Women’s mean bonus pay is 29.5% lower than men’s. A greater proportion of women (42.3%) than men (40.9%) received a bonus.
Live Nation UK
Live Nation last reported a mean pay gap of 80% and a median pay gap of 23%. The bonus pay gap was 91% (mean) and 36% (median).
For its latest figures for 2019, Live Nation UK has reported a median pay gap of 25.7% and a mean pay gap of 44.5%.
At Live Nation, women occupy 36% of the highest paid jobs and 72% of the lowest pay jobs.
The median bonus pay gap is 41.2% and the mean bonus pay gap is 85.8%. At Live Nation, 76% of men received a bonus compared to 70% of women.
PPL
PPL was one of the star performers in recent years. Last year it reported a mean pay gap of 6.9% for 2018 and a median pay gap of 2% in favour of women.
For 2019, the collection society’s median gender pay gap now favours men by 13.3%. The mean gender pay gap has widened to 14.2%.
At PPL, women occupy 32.7% of the highest paid jobs and 47.2% of the lowest paid jobs.
The median bonus pay gap is 47.8% and the mean bonus pay gap is 42.1%. A higher proportion of women (91%) than men (86.9%) recieved a bonus.
In its gender pay report, PPL said: “In a company our size, the pay for roles at the most senior level can impact our statistics if there are more men than women in those roles.”
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