To mark the start of ESEA Heritage Month, ESEA Music has shared the results of their first study into representation in the UK music industry.
In partnership with product research and strategy studio 100kicks, it surveyed ESEA (East and Southeast Asian) artists and professionals in the UK music industry about their experiences in relation to their cultural identity and heritage.
With over 80 participants, the survey is among the first to comprehensively collect data on the underrepresented intersection of the ESEA community within the UK music industry. The report is available here.
“Through my conversations with ESEA Music members over the past couple of years, as we embraced our newly collectivised ethnic identity, ESEA, and the music community, I’ve come to better understand the nuances of our experiences,” said Tiger Hagino Reid, ESEA Music co-founder. “From the joy of new diasporic connections to feeling ‘othered’ in the UK, from industry representation issues to a growing sense of activism, these shifts in identity and action have become evident through our meetups, creative collaboration and WhatsApp groups.
“To document for ourselves, and help others understand, the unique challenges faced by ESEA artists and professionals in the UK music industry, we've created the (Re) Orientated survey. This report is a pioneering effort to comprehensively collect data on this underrepresented intersection within the industry, and I'm immensely proud of it.”
Of the ESEA artists surveyed, 24.5% are full-time artists, whilst 45.3% are funding their music career with an unrelated job. The remainder were usually funding their music careers through other jobs in the music industry, or were students pursuing music careers part-time.
This report is a pioneering effort to comprehensively collect data on this underrepresented intersection within the industry
Tiger Hagino Reid
The report explores how cultural attitudes can influence familial support for pursuing musical careers, the extent to which their ethnicity is connected to the music they are making, and how that is perceived by the media, bearing in mind the lack of representation.
When ESEA artists were asked how much they feel that the music they make is connected to their cultural identity, 58.5% said it is very connected, 32.1% felt that it is somewhat connected and 9.4% felt that it is not connected at all.
Access to the music industry is heavily influenced by household factors such as class, parental occupation, and financial situation. According to the survey, 85.9% of respondents cited “worries around financial prospects” as their key barrier to entry into the music industry.
Among the main themes that the study uncovers, one is the “invisibilisation” of ESEA people within the “Asian” category in the UK, where the “Asian” cultural identity typically refers to “South Asian”, not “ESEA”.
Another is the lack of ESEA representation amongst both music industry professionals and artists. When asked to rate how well represented they feel in their cultural identity within the UK music industry on a scale of 1-10, the respondents gave an average rating of four.
The responses also reveal an enduring influence of stereotypes that typecast Asian women as exotic and alluring.
