In our About, we wrote “dif understands that: DEI theory, realities, and vocabulary evolve constantly.” Words matter. Of course the jargon, vernacular, wording around DEI can vary with time, within each community or because of the spoken language, but it truly does matter that we put some thought in the words we use.

What does it mean when so many people in our music industry use expressions such as ‘talent buyer’ or ‘fan acquisition’? Musician and technologist Christina Wheeler explains “The music industry should stop using the term ‘talent buyer’. As a descendent of enslaved people, I find this term incredibly offensive. I am not for sale. My artistic services are available for hire, but I am not an object for purchase. Talent booker, talent organizer, or talent curator are appropriate alternative. The music industry must change this today.”

Not only the idea of buying or acquiring people (as opposed to buying or hiring services), is reminiscent of slavery and human trafficking, but it also desensitises our industry to the human aspect of music. Music is not about numbers, it is about Art, the humans who create it, and the humans who support it. This commodification of music cheapens our labour and industry.

Next time you update your Linkedin profile, think of wording such as Talent Scouting, Fan Base Growth… put some work into showing the value of both your and your clients’ labour. You can also read this piece on CDM that offers replacement for outdated technical terms such as ‘master and slave’. And of course, do not forget that words such as ‘Gypsy’, ‘Eskimo’, ‘exotic’, and many more are probably not suitable in most situations in the music field. Surely our industry can do better than casually connote slavery or post-colonialism.