Deezer creates ‘Black Culture’ channel reinforcing the streamer’s commitment to Black artists and podcasters. The streamer is taking action to support black artists and creators and in June this year Deezer removed the term ‘Urban’ explaining that it’s an outdated word and is something they have banned internally and stopped using externally.
With its new ‘Black Culture’ channel, Deezer has committed to promoting audio content from the most talented black creators around the world. Its editors have curated a variety of playlists to celebrate both new and legendary tracks from black musicians who have influenced and shaped, and continue to evolve genres like pop, rock and electronic. The channel will debut with brand new playlists of iconic black artists across a broad mix of genres ranging from ‘Black Icons of Dance’ to ‘Black Icons of Classical’.
The ‘Editors Picks’ carousel will feature the very best new releases across all genres by black musicians. The picks will be updated weekly with brand new releases. You can discover black talent from around the world with playlists like ‘All Eyes On Jamaica,’ ‘Afro Pop’ and ‘Spirit.’ Protest playlists like ‘Say it Loud’ include a mix of old and new tracks full of lyrics about social justice and equal rights. Deezer is also supporting the black LGBTQ community, with dedicated genre playlists like ‘Queer Hiphop’ taking pride of place on the channel.
Deezer also wants to highlight underrepresented voices of black creators and producers in podcasts like ‘Black Girl Podcast’ and ‘Pod Save the People’. Fans will be encouraged to listen to podcasts to learn more about and evolve their perspectives around these issues. The channel will emphasise shows like ‘About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge’, which focuses on the key voices of anti-racist activism, while ‘Code Switch (NPR)’ examines the impact of racism on every part of society, from politics and pop culture to history and sports.
Junior Foster, Global Editor for the ‘Black Culture’ channel and Head of Global Artist Relations, said “We support the BLM movement. Throughout history, black musicians have been making music the world loves. In more recent years, black podcast creators have hosted chart-topping shows. Yet not all black creators are getting the attention and respect they deserve. We want to change that. Our new channel is a first step on a long journey. We want to make sure that there is a permanent space on Deezer where we can highlight black talent globally.”
In a recent statement they say that ‘Our work to support black culture isn’t only public facing. We want to improve, educate and be even more mindful in how we work together as a team. Deezer has already launched a diversity group designed to promote and support underrepresented creators. We’re also launching diversity workshops across our markets to engage our employees in the conversation.’
Deezer’s ‘Black Culture’ channel can be found here.
