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Beginning of June this year, at the NAMM Show in California, Roadies of Color United (ROCU) hosted the Promoting Diversity Within the Industry panel. ROCU have been active in the music industry since 2009. Founded by Lance “K.C.” Jackson and William “Bill” Reeves, this organization continuously promotes diversity and equality for music industry professionals working backstage.
The Promoting Diversity Within the Industry panel took place at the NAMM show.
For those of you who, like me, do not know much about the music industry: The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants, who describe it as “the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology communities.”
What if you could have more highly qualified professionals working for you?
What if you are missing out on significant business opportunities?
Did you know that nearly 70% of the touring industry pros share the same gender and ethnicity?
What does that mean for the opportunities we are all missing together?
Roadies of Color United (ROCU) Co-Founder Lance “KC” Jackson spoke on how his organization is helping to promote the shared interests of members and advocate for a more inclusive industry to unite people of all colors, women, and LGBTQ+ communities in the concert touring and entertainment services industries.
The panel was comprised of a wide range of professionals within the live entertainment industry.
They discussed their experiences of discrimination in their line of work and how we can ensure future generations don’t have to experience the same things in music industry.
Organizations like ROCU are essential to keep these questions alive. With the flood of news we are all daily confronted with, it is too easy to simply continue on as we always have and to not highlight these important issues on an ongoing basis.
It all begins with the actions of a few – like ROCU, which hopefully may lead to a more general awareness, from which we can then act on a broader level as an industry and a society.
Diversity greatly enriches our daily life and working life. It is invaluable.
And it is high time to get to a point, worldwide, at which we are all aware of the daily acts of discrimination all around us. And, more importantly, a point at which we all do something about it whenever we are confronted with it.
Collaboration is key.
You can watch the entire 53min panel Promoting Diversity Within the Industry at this year’s NAMM show here:
Angela Johnson – Account Executive at 4Wall
K. C. Jackson – Co-Founder of Roadies of Color United
Stephen Llorens – VP of Client Services at 4Wall
Cherise Pugh – Chief Marketing Officer at MusicLeaderz
Official Website Roadies of Color united (ROCU)
Official Website 4Wall
Official Website NAMM
Roadies Of Color United – End Of The Year Reflection
A Fundraiser In Times of Crisis – Roadies Of Color United
Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
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