When you think of the Deaf Community, you probably don’t associate it with the music industry, but you should. The Deaf Community has a history of storytelling, and music is an art form that uses storytelling to connect people. Popular songs and music videos are often a big part of pop culture; this allows people to connect through common interests. Pop culture is not just knowing a song, it is knowing the music video, and then understanding parodies and sharing all of this with friends. If the music video is not understood, then many things are missed. Of course, not everyone wants to watch music videos, but everyone should have the option of being able to watch and understand them. This goes for concerts and music festivals as well. More and more people are on the Internet participating in a broad cultural exchange. People from all over the world can identify with each other through similar tastes in things and knowing about pop culture. Since the Deaf Community is involved in popular culture, including the music industry, the music industry can take a few simple steps to become more accessible to the deaf community.

Recently, Ariana Grande released her music video for “Thank u, next”. The video instantly captured the attention of millions of people. The only problem, her video didn’t have the option of enjoying it with captions. 446 Million deaf people around the world could not understand the video. This is a severe problem considering the fact that “Thank u, next” debuted at number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart. The video paid homage to many famous movies, but without captions, deaf people were unable to catch all the references. It isn’t just one video either, due to its popularity, people all over the internet made parodies. Even James Corden, the host of the Late Late Show, made a parody called “Thank u, Jeff”. The lack of availability of captions for the “Thank u, next” video prompted widespread outrage. Ariana Grande responded to the outrage by releasing her music video for “7 Rings” with the option of using captions. “7 Rings” also debuted at number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart. Nyle DiMarco, a deaf actor, and activist made his own version of “7 Rings” where he signs the lyrics. Artists and their managing teams have the responsibility to make sure that their content is accessible to the Deaf Community.

Other artists release their albums with sign interpretations. Tove Lo worked with the Deaf Community and released all of the songs on her album “Blue Lips” with sign language interpretations. This allows deaf fans to enjoy her music. From a financial standpoint, making music that is accessible to the deaf community is smart because the more people that enjoy the music, the more people that support the artist by buying their music and going to their shows. When interpreters translate songs, they work hard to make sure that the meaning, emotion, and energy behind the song is understandable. Interpreters choose signs that look nicer when translating to convey the beauty and sophistication of a song. Similar to this, many musicians have American Sign Language Interpreters at their concerts to interpret their songs. Eminem has an interpreter who translates his rapping and conveys the energy in his songs beautifully, not just the lyrics. If more artists utilize interpreters for their songs and concerts, more deaf people will be able to attend these events and have the same experience as everyone else at the events.

Most people can’t name a deaf musician other than Beethoven. In the past century, there have been many deaf musicians since Beethoven. Nowadays, Sean Forbes and MC Geezer are very popular rappers. Sean Forbes is American, so he uses American Sign Language (ASL); MC Geezer is British, so he uses British Sign Language (BSL). They have large fan bases which have helped them secure good record deals. Sean Forbes has worked with the Oscar winner, Marlee Matlin, for his music video “Let’s Mambo”, which both deaf and hearing people can enjoy. Sean Forbes formed D-PAN (Deaf Professional Arts Network) to work with deaf musicians to support their work and to interpret songs by popular music groups (like Imagine Dragons).

Small efforts have been made by the music industry to work with the Deaf Community, however, continued collaboration to make music accessible for all is still needed. The Deaf Community and the music industry can work together to make enjoying music better for everyone. If musicians use captions and interpreters, they expand the number of people who can enjoy their music. Music is all about connecting people through sharing stories. When the music industry takes more steps towards making music more accessible to the Deaf Community, more people can connect to each other and share their cultures. In the world we live in today, understanding and respecting other people is more important than ever.