Throughout 2025 we were pleased to work with Lila, the non-profit initiative empowering South Asians in the UK music industry, in delivering The South Asian Soundcheck, an online survey that has provided the first detailed dataset on the South Asian experience in UK music. The insights gathered have set the stage for industry-wide action, and will help deliver the tools required for South Asian music to enter the spotlight.
The South Asian Soundcheck surveyed 349 people, most of whom are established music creators and professionals, and was supported by major industry bodies including UK Music, British Recorded Music Industry (BPI), Musicians Union (MU) and Music Managers Forum (MMF).
South Asian music creators, managers, executives, and behind-the-scenes professionals contributed their experiences to the new survey which explores: who is working in the industry and in what roles, how and what South Asians are earning in music, representation and visibility in the industry, how cultural identity shapes music careers, and what access there is to funding and industry support, and what is needed.
The results revealed a fundamental lack of support and representation is holding back progress, as well as identifying a clear need identified for mentorship, representation and investment. The indications were that only a quarter are able to rely on music as their full-time source of income, while two thirds of those asked said that it is the lack of South Asian people in industry positions that holds them back most; they cannot see people like themselves making programming decisions at festivals and venues, signing artists at labels, or holding senior roles at streaming platforms.
These are just a few of the examples of the issues uncovered by the survey and if you would like to dive any deeper, you can download the full report here.
As part of our campaign we looked after both the announcement of the survey, and its results, placing high-quality coverage on Eastern Eye, Arts Professional, DesiBlitz, Record of the Day, The Musicans Union, Asian Tones, Festival Insights, Music Week, Complete Music Update, Biz Asia Live, Record of the Day, Music Ally, Headliner Hub, GG2.net, Mixmag, Skiddle, and DJ Mag plus more, as well as packages on BBC Radio London, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1 Xtra, and BBC Asian Network.
Lila is an incredible organisation and we are so proud to support this vital work.
Sundae x
