UK’s major music companies report an average gender pay gap of 25.3 percent for 2020

Image: Viktor Hanacek

A recent report has revealed that six major UK music giants have an average gender pay gap of around 25.3 percent. These companies include Universal Music, Warner Music, Sony Music, Spotify, Apple and Live Nation and the numbers reflect the average pay gap as of April 2020. 

According to the stats, Spotify reports the smallest percentage at 15.3 percent while Live Nation reports the largest at 34.3 percent. Spotify also reportedly pays women 40.3 percent less than men. The average percentage at the three major labels (Warner, Sony and Universal) was down nearly one percent from 2019, while the difference in bonuses paid to men versus women was at a fifty percent split.

At the streaming services, the majority of employees as well as the top earning bracket were mostly men. At Apple Music, men accounted for 87 percent of their total employees, while at Spotify this number is at 67.6 percent.

Both Apple and Spotify have made their gender gap reports available to read, here and here. While UK companies employing more than 250 people are legally obligated to report their gender pay stats, the regulation was waived last year due to the pandemic.