UNITED KINGDOM (CelebrityAccess) UK major labels have revealed their pay gap figures for last year, following 2017 results that showed some disparity.
Major labels’ companies and organizations are legally required to publish the figures, according to Music Week, as are music industry organizations with more than 250 staff.
Warmer Music UK had, in 2017, a mean pay gap of 49 percent and a median pay gap of 21 percent, with a median bonus pay gap 44 percent in favor of men. Women occupied only 26 percent of the highest paid jobs.
This year, although the pay gap continues to favor men, the mean pay gap of 38.7 percent was down more than 10 percentage points but the median pay gap actually increased to 23.1 percent, according to Music Week.
However, a higher proportion of top jobs at Warner are now occupied by women and the median bonus pay gap shrank slightly to 39 percent.
“We’re a company that’s committed to achieving full gender equality at every level of our business,” said the gender pay report issued by Maria Osherova, EVP and chief human resources officer, WMG and Max Lousada, CEO, recorded music WMG and CEO/chairman Warner Music UK.
“As the figures in this report show, we’re still a long way from achieving that aim, but we’re traveling in the right direction and making progress. Building a modern music company that’s as equal and diverse as possible is not just the right thing to do; it’ll also make us a more impactful player in the world of culture that we seek to influence.”
Warner Music has women in senior roles like Katie White, GM of Atlantic, and Jennifer Ivory, GM of Warner Bros. but the major has no female label presidents, Music Week noted. Since last year’s report, the company elevated seven females to the level of VP.
Sony Music UK had a similar median gender pay gap of 4.6 percent in 2017 and a mean gender pay gap of 22.7 percent. Women occupied 36.7 percent of the highest paid jobs. Last year, the median pay gap was 1.3 percent and a mean pay gap of 20.9 percent.
“We’re proud to have some of the best executives in the industry and we are constantly working to attract and retain senior female leaders,” said Liz Jeffery, VP, HR. “This is a key part of our strategy to continue to succeed.”
Universal Music UK had a median pay gap of 16.7 percent and a mean pay gap of 29.8 percent last year. The bonus gap was 30.4 percent, median, and 49.2 percent, mean. An equal amount of men and women received bonus pay. Yet, the top pay band quartile the gender split was 70 percent in favor of men.
The lower pay quartile at Universal had a higher proportion of women than men at 54 perce3nt, while the upper quartile had a lower proportion of women (27 percent) that were occupying the roles in 2017.
“At Universal Music we value and celebrate the diversity, in all its forms, of the teams across our business,” said Morna Cook, senior director, HR, Universal Music UK. “It’s not an overstatement to say the success of our company depends on our teams reflecting the incredible diversity of our artist roster and society. We recognise however that there is still more to do.
“In short, the overall pay gap largely results from the fact that we have fewer women than men in senior positions, something we are determined to address,” said Cook. “We already have a significant number of female senior executives – including the presidents of two of our five frontline record labels [Jo Charrington, Capitol and Rebecca Allen, Decca] – and we will continue to add to these numbers through bespoke coaching and mentoring to support the development of all our future leaders. Our family-friendly policies are also regularly reviewed.”
h/t Music Week
