The Music Business Has a Gender Problem and This Is What Everyone in the Industry Can Do About It
You are lying to yourself if you think that the music business does not have a gender problem. Whether you’re a DJ, producer, promoter or work for a record label, the signs and evidence are all around you: female DJs are grossly under-represented on lineups (and not due to lack of skill), mansplaining occurs even at the highest level with international touring acts, stories of sexual assault and misogyny continuously pop up left, right and center and of course the typical rebuttal to all of this sounds something along the lines of, “she fucked her way to the top and doesn’t even make her own music.”
Having been involved with the dance music industry in the United States for the past five years, I have noticed the uneasy and lopsided pressure on women in music. In the fall of 2016, at the Sørveiv conference in Norway, a panel was conducted on the subject of gender in music that led to a revealing discussion that highlighted several key points on the subject. A man, interestingly enough, took a stance and argued that women simply need more role models, once again putting blame on women for the gender plight that is so pervasive in this industry. The gender problem is not just a woman problem, it’s a problem every single member of the music community is responsible for in one way or another, and shifting the blame back to women is not only irresponsible and short-sighted, but only serves to cement the status quo that we find ourselves debating in the first place.
