A free 200+ page self-paced auditing guide for music, arts and performance spaces to help identify strengths, remove barriers and improve artist access across the built environment, adaptive environment, and internal operations. This covers everything from stage access, mixing in-ear monitors, to harm reduction and nightlife safety.
DIY Venue Harm Reduction is a resource for people who manage spaces, host events, and/or attend events. This is not a comprehensive safety manual or replacement for involving licensed experts and meeting fire/building codes. This collaborative effort is edited by community and professional experts who span a range from DIY/lived experience to credentialed professionals in architecture, fire rescue and prevention, disability justice, and more.
This toolkit is intended to provide resources and directives for Event Producers, Industry leaders and Employers to implement best practices for events in the Canadian Music Industry, to ensure the best results for cultural diversity, and to focus on creating opportunities for Black professionals and creatives of all intersectionality (including gender, sexual orientation, neuro and physical abilities). It provides guidance and references, and addresses common factors often overlooked in event curation on stage and off.
The Trans Charter for the Music Industry is a transformative initiative designed to create real, systemic change. It offers a set of actionable guidelines that music organizations, labels, venues, festivals, and professionals can commit to to build a more inclusive and affirming environment for trans and non-binary artists and professionals.
Research and action plan from Women in Music Canada devoted to addressing the gender imbalance within the music industry—primarily focuses on Ontario but acts as a good resource for gender imbalance in the industry nationwide.
Research and action plan from Canadian Live Music Association regarding the underrepresentation of BIPOC as workers in the live music industry in Canada.
Research and recommendations from Canadian Independent Music Association to address anti-Black racism in the Canadian music industry.
Deep dive/case study from Help Musicians UK into why musicians are up to three times more likely to experience depression than the general public.
The first-ever survey of workplace sexual harassment in the Canadian performing arts, film, and television industries (March 2021).
Keychange is a pioneering international initiative which transforms the future of music by encouraging festivals and music organisations to achieve representation of at least 50% women and gender-diverse individuals in their programming, staffing and beyond.
See the Pledge/Action Plan here.
The strategies and approaches presented in this report from the Diversity Institute aim to provide organizations in the music industry with recommendations to embed equity, diversity and inclusion considerations into their leadership, strategy, governance, human resource processes, data collection, organizational culture, value chain, communications, and outreach efforts.
This report outlines the state of the music industry as of 2025 on a global level, including pressing topics such as streaming services and artificial intelligence.
