Valuations of diversity: The role of marquee quotas in creative industries (Working Paper)

Abstract

We examine how creative industry workers engage with diversity, absent a formal organizational mandate to do so. Through in-depth interviews with independent music industry personnel (N=50), we find that marquee quotas -- racially diverse representation on rosters and festival bills -- guide how diversity is sought and implemented. Such quotas are justified via four distinct valuations of diversity: aesthetic, economic, reputational, and moral. Both racialized and white participants justify the importance of diversity on moralistic grounds. By contrast, white participants more often justify the value of diversity by making claims about the aesthetic, economic and reputational benefits of marquee quotas. The deployment of these more self-serving valuations has consequences for the extent to which people of colour can be authentically included. Our analysis contributes to critiques of the socio-economic role and consequences of diversity initiatives, within the context of a creative industry.