Advocacy & Accessibility in Music

Accessibility starts with awareness, but it grows through action. Advocating for inclusive music spaces means recognizing barriers, sharing knowledge, and working together to remove obstacles that limit participation. Whether you’re a musician, organizer, venue staff member, or audience member, you play a role in shaping who gets to create, perform, and belong.

True accessibility benefits everyone. Financial hardship, injury, aging, or temporary limitation can affect any person at any time. By approaching accessibility with empathy, curiosity, and shared responsibility, we can build music spaces that are safer, more welcoming, and more creatively vibrant for all.

Ways to Advocate for Accessibility

• Advocate for yourself and ask how spaces can be better adapted to include more people.
• Learn to recognize physical, architectural, and communication barriers that limit music participation.
• Educate yourself on assistive technologies, inclusive tools, and alternative ways people experience music.
• Stay mindful of accessibility challenges in venues, rehearsals, studios, and performance spaces.
• Speak up when conditions are unsafe, unnecessarily difficult, or could be improved with thoughtful design.
• Offer support when possible—small actions can remove big obstacles.
• Share accessibility knowledge within your artistic and local communities with openness and care.
• Reach out to venue owners, city officials, and cultural leaders to ask what accessibility efforts are underway.
• Advocate for inclusive practices with clear calls to action and achievable steps.
• Support disabled musicians by hiring, collaborating, and creating paid opportunities whenever possible.