The Jaguar Foundation: Debut new report on Gender Representation in UK Dance music.

The Jaguar Foundation has released findings from their debut report, Progressing Gender Representation In UK Dance Music,

The foundation was set up by DJ and Radio 1 Dance host Jaguar in 2020 to improve the flow of female, trans and non-binary talent in dance music. The report used research from a range of artists and industry executives, supported by the Sony Music UK Social Justice Fund, with research lead and primary author Nicola Davies.

The report uncovers evidence supporting long-held beliefs about gender disparity in dance music – across the live industry, radio airplay, streaming platforms and in the gender balance of music organisation employees – as well as exploring a number of other discriminatory issues that female and non-binary people face.

The Jaguar Foundation report also reveals how the live industry offers fewer opportunities for female and non-binary artists and those from minority backgrounds. The gender balance of the UK live industry overall was not highlighted as a point of concern, but the disparity increased at higher levels, with men occupying 63 percent of senior roles compared to the 37 percent for women.

The team collected data sets from Skiddle (live events), the Official Charts Company (sales & streaming data), Viberate (festival line-ups) and Chartmetric (pronoun database and radio airplay data) to create the most comprehensive research yet into these topics. 

The findings follows a report by the 2022 International Music Summit (IMS) that identified the UK dance/electronic music is increasing as a share of people's listening for the first time in eight years, with the global dance industry’s value now at an estimated $6 billion. 

Following the release of this report, Jaguar is set to relaunch Future1000 alongside co-founders Virtuoso under a new banner: FutureDJs. The relaunch will include a new set of on-demand courses featuring a cast of educators curated by Jaguar. Future DJs will be open to all ages from across the world.

Jaguar said: “I’m proud to bring this groundbreaking gender report out into the world. My overarching mission is to make the world a better place through my work, and bringing equality to the dance world is a huge priority for me. My hope is that this becomes a springboard for much needed change in the electronic music industry, and makes women and non-binary people feel supported and represented.”

The full report can be found here.