Women in Music Industry: Gender Disparity in Music

The Music Industry is filled with numerous female icons that did not just create music but a statement in the industry. However, the number is mostly high when it comes to singers and performers, and reaching gender parity is still a need. It is not a feminist agenda but rather seeking the involvement of women music artists in all sectors like songwriting, producing, and engineering which is dominated by male artists. While some might put a debate on the topic of male music artists vs. female music artists; the vision is quite larger than that.

While there has been a magnificent increase in female musicians in the last few years, the last decade shows interesting facts. Only 12.7% of songwriters are female and when it comes to music production, it goes down to 2.8%. When it comes to music, women of color have made more progress than the rest and currently, the industry is being led by artists of color and their number has increased too. However, the number of female artists is still low on the top charts like Billboard Hot 100.

Under-presentation of Female Music Producers

While there are a lot of female performers, women artists are lacking in all parts of the music creation process. The lack of female producers in the industry is particularly noticeable at 2.8% of total producers. If you check the 2021 Hot 100 Year End Chart, only 3.9% of the producing positions were handled by female producers. What is even more concerning is that there were only 10 female producers over the decade and all of them were women in color.

Also Read: The Role of Women Composers in the History of Classical Music

Least Number of Female Songwriters

You can find more female songwriters than female producers in the industry. However, it is still very low. Over the decade only 12.7% of total songs released are considered to be written or co-written by women. While the percentage of women songwriters has slightly increased to 14.4%, it is still quiet and the industry should think about it. It is also concerning that female songwriters mostly write their own songs than for others as most female songwriters are also singers like Taylor Swift.

The Grammy Situation

Over the last 10 years, around 21.8% of total music artists were women only. While you might be able to see a lot of performances by female artists at The Grammys, the gender gap is still quite prominent in the music industry but it is improving. At Grammy, women artists only make up around 13.6% of nominees across the five major categories for the Award. Other categories like the best new artist are most likely to feature more women than in the major ones. Over the last 10 years, 44.4% of the nominations in this category were women. Similarly, 28.8% of nominees were female in the case of song of the year and only  9.7% for album of the year. Billboard Hot 100-year-end chart shows that only around 30% of artists on the Chart are female.

A Changing Situation

While the disparity of gender is widely visible across the industry; the situation is also improving with each passing year. After the adverse effects of the Global Pandemic, people are more invested in social media and digital platforms. A lot of emerging artists are gaining attention with the help of digital content which is allowing a lot of independent artists to grow. A significant number of incredibly talented female artists have gained exposure through these platforms. Many of these independent artists write songs and are also capable of making music.

Cultural diversity is one of the factors that influence the industry making room for female music artists and not just performers on the front row. Just like women of color, female artists from various countries are contributing to the global music industry such as Afro artists, Latin artists, Korean artists, and so on. People are enjoying music without any language barrier which is allowing these female musicians to gain more attention from around the world.

There are many organizations dedicated to offering more opportunities and funding to help female musicians grow and climb the ladder of success. Organizations and global movements like She is the Music, SheSaid.so, Women in Music, Femnoise, etc many others have offered consistent support for the artists. The number of non-profit organizations is increasing along with the number of female music artists who are taking part in all sectors.

Women are being a part of the wide spectrum of the global music business and many of them are now record label owners. One of the revered names is Sylvia Rhone who started her career with Buddha Records and scaled to the bigger positions in the popular labels like Universal Motown Records or the Atlantic Records. She is currently the CEO of Epic Records and also the chairman of Elektra Records. Similarly, there is Helen Smith who is the Executive Chair of the European music organization known as Impala. There are also many female artists who have opened their own record labels in order to help other artists grow.

Concluding Thoughts

Over the years, the music industry has introduced a lot of talented female music artists who helped to enrich the industry with their precious contributions. While the number is low, it is gradually increasing every year and that includes all kinds of musical personas such as rappers, singers, composers, sound engineers, songwriters, and the list goes on. In order to omit gender disparity in the music industry, more women are required in the process of music creation than just performing it. Remember, it is not about equality but equity that is deserved by all. Gender disparity is a problem and that needs to be addressed as a problem only. With more awareness among common folks, a brighter future is just on the way!