Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels Pledges $100k For Best Idea To Accelerate Gender Parity

McDaniels

BEATPORT’s CEO ROBB MCDANIELS announced at this year's INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SUMMIT IBIZA (IMS) the companies intention to invest $100,000 into an idea that would accelerate gender parity across the DJ music industry. He made the announcement during his “Road To Recovery” keynote address at the 2022 installment of IMS at DESTINO PACHA RESORT in IBIZA, SPAIN. 

The initiative is to provide the next generation of creators, artists, DJs and producers with tools to empower their creative process. BEATPORT believes this investment into a groundbreaking idea can help propel the industry forward by providing a more inclusive and welcoming environment for female and non-binary artists to realize their DJ ambitions. Though progress has been made in the way of diversity and equality in the music industry, MCDANIELS acknowledged BEATPORT’s unique position to serve as leaders of change in the global DJ community.

MCDANIELS said, “When I joined BEATPORT at the end of 2017, I was shocked to learn that about 95% of customers in the DJ community were male. That just didn’t make sense to me, and while it may be a deep-rooted sociological issue, it’s also a business one that, if solved, results in a meaningful expansion of our market and a big opportunity for our community."

He added, "While BEATPORT has put in place several operational and promotional programs to improve this metric by 60% over the past four years, we still aren’t where we need to be as a community that should have higher standards for inclusion and diversity. The reality is that we need to draw on innovation and collaboration from all corners of our industry to accelerate change.”

So far, the response to the initiative has been received well according to company officials. MCDANIELS and BEATPORT have seen an overwhelming response to the initiative, from entrepreneurs as well as industry partners who would like to expand the program’s investment budget. For those interested, reach out to robb@beatport.com.

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