Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to ensuring our venues and performance spaces are for everyone; a place where they can feel welcome and be their authentic selves with no fear of judgement.

Our organisation is a reflection of the city of Birmingham and its diverse communities; on stage, in our workforce and in our audience and supporters.


Over the last two years we have had a sustained focus on our work around diversity and inclusion, so far we have:

  • Diversified our Board of Trustees to ensure we have a breadth of skills, backgrounds and lived experience
  • Formed a Trustee led Diversity and Inclusion working group attended by representatives from across our staff teams with members of our local communities attending relevant meetings
  • Have put in place an annual Diversity and Inclusion action plan
  • Have a Trustee led Access Group, which is formed of staff teams, audience members and artists to ensure we listen to the voices of those who have additional access needs
  • Creation of B:Heard, a group made up of internal representatives to gather feedback from our staff team. Feedback is made anonymously to our CEO, with feedback on actions passed back to teams
  • Held training sessions for our Board and staff teams
  • Carried out a whole staff survey to fully understand our teams experiences of working at B:Music
  • Removed the use of the word ‘BAME’ from within our internal and external language
  • Developed our recruitment and induction processes to reflect our local communities
  • Diversified what and who you see on our stages and in our performance spaces
  • Broadened our support of the music community particularly those from the Global Majority
  • Increased the number of fully relaxed performances within our programme
  • Building networks of experts and people with lived experience to support specific projects or programming streams
  • Commissioned new music amplifying the voices of those who have experienced inequality

The three pillars of B:You, B:Together, B:Next are always underpinned by a need to B:Sustainable; ensuring we are here for the future.

Our Diversity and Inclusion Values

B:You

• Our venues and performance spaces are for everyone; a place where they can feel welcome and be their authentic selves with no fear of judgement

• Our organisation is a reflection of the city of Birmingham and its diverse communities; on stage, in our workforce and in our audience and supporters

• We celebrate what is possible rather than focus on what is not possible or different; we are open to change, actively seeking feedback to grow and develop

• As an organisation we aim to be fully accessible; investing in BSL interpretation, captioning, braille programmes, audio description, translation and digital resources where possible

• We offer a range of musical experiences, breaking down barriers; empowering people from across the region to enjoy the power of live music

B:Next

• We support the next generation of creative people (on and off stage); ardently overcoming any barriers to access

• We invest in the ongoing training and support of our people to enable progression, both personally and professionally – developing both on and off stage

• We create and champion opportunities for young professionals to enter the organisation via non-traditional routes (e.g. apprenticeships)

• We work with a range of communities to find and support artists to take that next step in their career

• We provide a holistic programme of support to those working in the music industry across our region to enable them to sustain their careers

• We act as an incubator for musical talent from across the city. A space where artists can come together, share and pitch ideas, and for the organisation to support the development of those ideas

• We create opportunities for young curious minds to develop a love of live music; providing educational opportunities to develop their talents and interest

B:Together

• We bring together the diverse communities of Birmingham and West Midlands

• Through our events and projects, we combat isolation and loneliness

• We bring together artists to develop talent and share skills

• We bring together a wide variety of music genres, performance set ups and production

• We bring together two very different but iconic Birmingham City Centre music venues

• We bring together businesses, community groups and charities; democratising our spaces

• Our teams work collaboratively to ensure the best result for our communities and our operation

We really welcome your feedback on all areas of our work; please do contact us feedback@bmusic.co.uk with any thoughts and comments you may have