On Monday, the U.K. industry publication Music Week published its annual "30 Under 30" list. The list quickly drew criticism for its lack of diversity: 28 of the 30 executives picked for the distinction were white.
Initially, Music Week avoided taking responsibility for the oversight, placing the blame on forces out of its control. "The lack of diversity on the list may reflect a wider lack of diversity in the industry itself," wrote Mark Sutherland, editor of Music Week. "It certainly reflects a relative lack of diversity in the nominations we received."
Today, Music Week published another letter on its website apologizing "for not doing our jobs well enough in this instance" and announcing a plan to "review and adjust the nomination and selection process for this and other such lists, ensuring that diversity is given significantly more priority."
"Music Week is for the whole music industry," the letter continued. "In [the] future, we will consult with a wider group of people to garner a wider range of opinions. We will allocate more time and more resources to such projects and put diversity high on the agenda for everything we do. We will certainly work harder, try harder and, hopefully, do better—and would ask for the support of the entire music industry in helping us to do so."
Read the whole letter here.