Black Music Export, the UK organisation known as BLACMEX, has asked musicians to submit recordings of their live performances towards a new centralised archive of the country's Black music sector.

BLACMEX was founded by the DJ Kwame Safo, who records as Funk Butcher, and Audrey Gray, previously chief executive of the Gospel Music Industry Alliance. It launched in 2024 as the UK's first export service dedicated to Black music, working across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Submissions are open through the organisation's website to solo singers and songwriters, touring bands, DJs working club and festival circuits, and live crew members.

In a press statement, BLACMEX said the archive is intended to produce reliable data on where and how often artists in Black music genres are performing, and that such evidence would strengthen the case for fairer investment, partnership opportunities and policy attention. It added that better data would give a more accurate picture of the sector's economic and cultural contribution, which in turn shapes funding decisions and industry recognition.

Artists who submit performances will be given early access to the BLACMEX beta platform when it launches.