"The bottom line is that most people don’t have the time or the space or the money to do it": salute on the barriers to diversity and inclusion in music production

Salute: "Pop-influenced dance music is amazing; that's always been a part of my sonic identity." - YouTube

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UK-based electronic artist salute released their debut album earlier this month, a diverse project that mashes up elements of classic filter house and UK garage with forward-thinking songwriting and Japanese-influenced aesthetics. 

Featuring collaborations with the likes of Rina Sawayama, Karma Kid and Disclosure, TRUE MAGIC injects dance music with a heady dose of pop maximalism. Following the album's release, we sat down with salute for an interview that touched on the artist's influences, their approach to collaboration and the studio techniques behind the album.

We also asked salute, who introduced an inclusion rider to their contract for live performances in 2022, to share their thoughts on the barriers to diversity and inclusion in music production and the challenges faced by underrepresented groups trying to break into electronic music and music technology. 

"For the most part, the reason why some people might struggle to get into it is time. If you're working a job that requires you to be super active, if you don't have the time to write music, or if you don't earn enough money to buy music production software or hardware, then those are already barriers. 

"The vast majority of the music industry that are able to make a living already came from backgrounds that enabled them to have the time to write music," they continued. 

"If you're lucky enough to have parents who can give you money so that you don't have to worry about earning money on the side to make it work, that's already such a privilege to have. The bottom is line is that most people don’t have the time or the space or the money to do it."

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