A non-profit organization wants to see increased efforts towards equity and equality in the music industry

IMPRA is a non-profit organization that supported the Currents festival earlier this year. Its mission is to promote equity and equality in music, with a particular emphasis on jazz and improvisational music. The organization was founded in 2006 by jazz singers and composers Lina Nyberg and Gunilla Törnfeldt. 

 

According to Sara Aldén, the social media manager at IMPRA, they chose to support the festival because of its independence and its diverse, interesting, and equitable selection. They organized an IMPRA Pop Up, which is a way to show extra support. Jenna Nyman, their board president, and Ruth Pahlbäck, a board member, represented IMPRA. They discussed IMPRA's mission and helped share Currents' PR on social media. 

 

IMPRA has observed a regression in equity and equality across the music scene: "With everything from conservative movements to ‘tradwife’ eras, the pursuit of equality has been sidelined—and therefore needs to be prioritized more than ever." She concludes that if there isn't active movement forward, it regresses automatically.

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Musiksverige is another Swedish association that works toward a more inclusive music industry. In their survey “Perspektivmätning 2024,” they could see that women and people with disabilities face more discrimination, and that men are more often in leadership roles.

 

If IMPRA could choose one thing to improve the music scene today, they would want music and art schools to work really hard toward equality, both between genders and across socioeconomic lines. So that everyone can have the same chance to create music and art in society, Aldén says. 

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