WOMEN IN MUSIC BEHIND THE SCENES: WE NEED MORE OF YOU!

By Olivia Tizie

What is the issue?

Dubbed as a “boys club”, the music industry has been dominated by male artists, producers, engineers and more, and now gender disparity within the music industry has never been more prominent than now. Not only are women being hired less, but paid a lot less too. 

  • On average women take up 38% of the music business industry, with companies such as Apple only having 13% of their workforce being women. 

  • When it comes to bonuses, on average, women are getting paid 47% less than their male counterparts across the top three major record labels in the UK (Sony, Universal and Warner).  

(Music Business Worldwide, 2019)

  • Only 36.67% of UK music publishers are women. 

  • 82% of CEOs of UK music publishing companies are male.

(Vick Bain, 2019)

Why is it an issue?

We could sit here racking our brains about WHY this is an issue but the simple answer is that there shouldn’t be an issue in the first place! Women are consistently unfairly treated across many high-earning industries, despite working as hard as their male counterparts. 

  • Sexism & Misogyny 

  • Lack of education to women regarding roles within the music business

  • Lack of diverse marketing

  • It is also often said that the creative industry is all about who you know not what you know therefore accessibility to meetings and networking to get into music business jobs can be an obstacle for many women looking to involve themselves in this industry. 

These reasons all further perpetuate the idea that women are merely not good enough to work within the industry, nor deserving of bonuses or promotions.

How can we make change & progress?

  • Education regarding all the job roles available within the music industry is key in encouraging young women to pursue their passion and thus creating a better future for all. #FutureIsFemale

  • Raising awareness: By increasing discussion and dialogue we start to bring accountability to those overlooking women and take a step forward in tackling gender inequality. 

  • Support: Mentorships, programmes and schemes aimed at women will not only encourage and support women in joining the music business industry but allow them to build networks, learn from one another and break down barriers. 

It is important that as women we celebrate all our achievements because when we win, we show every other woman they can win too, no matter how big or small.