FAC Insights: Unmute

FAC Insights is a forum for us to showcase and share long form pieces looking at various parts of the music industry and the society that shapes it. Pieces take the form of videos, interviews, discussions, articles and more.

In this piece, we’re pleased to feature Andrew Lansley, Creative Director of UnMute, who shares how UnMute is breaking down barriers for disabled artists through music, advocacy and community-led action, helping to create access, visibility and new pathways into the music industry.

I’ve worked in the music industry for over 20 years, and it only occurred to my dumb ass to do something about disability representation in music when I walked offstage at Glastonbury in 2022 thinking “if we don’t do it, no one will” 

 The “it” was proactively, deliberately programming disabled artists into major events and festivals. The “we” was – and still is – the community of disabled musicians across the UK behind UnMute who have been part of its story for over two years, and whose story I’m here to share. 

 It was on that stage I was undertaking research for the Musicians’ Union and Attitude is Everything to understand the barriers for disabled performers at live events and festivals. It had been pointed out to me that as an autistic musician and academic researcher who just so happened to get to stand on the stages of the biggest festivals in the UK that I might just be able to use that position to help others. With that I undertook a short research project, essentially ‘mystery shopping’ 30 UK festivals over one season to see if artist liaison and stage teams would respond to access rider requests, and if those adjustments were put in place The results were so bad that one senior music industry representative begged me not to publish the results.  

 And that was how UnMute was born. As my dumb ass walked off that stage, I realised a research project just wasn’t going to cut it – we needed to make change happen and that nothing would materialise unless we just got on with it ourselves. 

 Fast forward to March 2026 and UnMute was launched by Global Local, having been co-created alongside disabled artists, event promoters and access organisations including the Musician’s Union, Attitude is Everything and Drake Music. UnMute is the UK’s first music roster exclusively dedicated to disabled artists, proudly sitting alongside some amazing organisations in the community like Deaf Rave, Levelling the Field and Optivus Records. UnMute brings together performers working across radically different genres and practices, from the internationally recognised drag collective Drag Syndrome through to artists from all around the UK including Ali Affleck, Kray-z-Legz, Rightkeysonly, Tarantism, Emzae and Revenge of Calculon. 

 Whether you want dnb DJs, folk ensembles or cosmic intergalactic funk – we’ve got you covered. The roster itself wasn’t designed to be intentionally broad, as Chris Tofu, Global Local boss often says “Disability ain’t a genre maaan” and he’s absolutely right. Disabled artists have always existed across every part of music culture despite often being excluded from the networks that sustain it. 

 That exclusion rarely comes from outright hostility and UnMute has been built to work with the industry, not to criticise it for not being accessible enough. Venues, promoters, agents, organisers – we all share in the challenges we face – UnMute would rather be part of a messy solution that we work out together, than waiting to construct a perfect model that could never realistically be achieved. More often than not access barriers emerge through systems and assumptions that have remained largely unquestioned for years, which is why it’s so important to take an integrated approach and meet promoters and bookers where they are. 

 UnMute are already working with a major UK music agency to develop a toolkit as part of our output to help other promoters and bookers work with disabled artists, and for artist agencies to be better prepared to work with disabled musicians. There are so many factors and levels to explore: touring schedules built around relentless flexibility; backstage environments that are physically or sensorily overwhelming; the additional financial costs around support workers, transport or accommodation. One of the “Key Performance Indicators” we have at UnMute is that we develop our own competition in the sector within three years. Another is that bigger agencies poach our artists. 

 As such, what UnMute is attempting to do is intervene practically within that space as a friendly force for cultural goodness. We like to think we are two-faced in the nicest possible way: we introduce our artists to our network of festivals and venues, while working alongside industry partners to support conversations around access and reasonable adjustments. The Musicians’ Union Access Rider has become a central tool in that process, helping artists and promoters establish expectations clearly and collaboratively before performances take place. If you take one thing away from reading this article, please let it be “we’ll integrate Access Riders into our contracting/advancing processes tomorrow”. Or book one of our artists. Or several. Make that two things to take away. 

 What UnMute is not attempting to do is create a parallel music industry for disabled artists. The ultimate ambition is integration rather than separation, but we like to think there’s always space for a lil’ bit of ghettoisation. One of the issues with representation is that integration and normalisation are often seen as key indicators of success – which they absolutely are – but this should not be confused with a community trying to create a united shop front for their assembled artistry. One of the main challenges historically has been underrepresentation, so it feels like a bit of an overcorrection is needed to find that that balance. If you can find us all in one place to start with, it makes the whole process much easier for you. 

 The distinction matters because disabled artists are still too often framed through narratives of inspiration or adversity rather than actual artistic value. Enough of our artists on the roster have experienced endless invitations to “tell their stories”, and “share their journeys” with audiences. Advocacy is important, but how much of it do you actually need to do if you’re a banging jungle DJ and just want to spend your time playing monster sets until 4am in The Rumshack? We like to think the UnMute artists within the roster are not compelling because they have overcome barriers - they are compelling because they are excellent musicians, performers and creators bringing distinct perspectives into public culture – and that’s why we want to make it easy for promoters and bookers to work with our artists. 

 Daniel Vais, manager of Drag Syndrome, articulates this wonderfully: “When artists with Down Syndrome take the stage, they redefine who gets to be seen, heard and celebrated. That shift doesn’t just include us, it transforms the art form itself.” 

 The response to UnMute from both the live sector and press has already confirmed wider appetite for that change. Following our launch in March our we have doubled the number of artist applications being received and have been fielding ongoing enquiries with UnMute bookings already in place with events including Shambala Festival, Boomtown, The Great Escape and St George’s Day celebrations at Trafalgar Square, with so many more to announce. 

 UnMute arrives at a moment when the wider live sector is already reconsidering questions around sustainability, representation and resilience. Audiences increasingly expect cultural spaces to reflect the diversity of contemporary society, while festivals and venues are beginning to recognise that accessibility cannot remain a peripheral concern. Besides the average festival audience continues to age and we have multiple public health crisis on the horizon, so we’re going to need to make all of these spaces accessible at some pointanyway… 

 So please consider UnMute the death knell for some pretty long-standing industry assumptions: that booking disabled artists is somehow unusually difficult. That visibility is no longer one of the biggest barriers disabled artists face professionally, because we’ve created that visibility for ourselves. Promoters now have a curated and community generated roster of artists from which to book which we have created that for them. It’s not perfect and it’s not finished – but it’s here and you can use it now. 

 So why delay? You can book today! There are so many amazing, talented humans to choose from. UnMute will work with you to support all aspects of booking and access, we just want our amazing artists to create incredible connections with audiences. 

 Our artists are already exceptional, please help us to make them normal.

You can view and book an UnMute artists here.

You can apply to be on the UnMute roster here.