In partnership with Wide Awake Festival
The facts are undeniable – the music industry has a serious gender problem. From bloke-heavy festival line-ups to the same tired old excuses getting carted out about a supposed lack of viable women headliners every single summer, it’s a conversation that has been happening on repeat for years with little in the way of meaningful change.
In reality, this is a problem that begins at the highest echelons of the industry, with a lack of diversity in senior positions at the very top, and trickles down through A&R, radio, journalism, and promotion right into into recording studios, songwriting rooms, behind-the-scenes technical crews, and label rosters. Music industry workers who aren’t cis men aren’t just booked and signed less frequently, they’re also paid less. The industry’s latest gender pay gap report – published on April 4 – makes for disappointing reading, and it’s clear that the entire system needs shaking up and reimagining.
The question is, besides the slow crawl towards steadily levelling things out and waiting for the tide to gradually shift, what else can be done in the meantime to accelerate the necessary changes? For a start, it would be encouraging to see more festival head honchos and leading gig bookers deviating from the predictable rotation of main stage acts – and punters can lead the way by putting their money behind the events bringing in the most inclusive and diverse line-ups.
Attempting to change the direction of this self-fulfilling narrative, Keychange is an important part of the picture when it comes to forging an alternative path through direct action. By now, over 600 festivals and companies around the world have signed the Keychange Pledge, to achieve at least 50 per cent representation of women and gender expansive people in their line-ups, behind the scenes crew, staff, on rosters, in playlists, and beyond. It clearly works: an impressive 64 per cent of signees have already achieved or surpassed their targets.
Glastonbury boss Emily Eavis wasn’t altogether wrong when she pointed towards a “pipeline problem” with festival booking in particular, but festivals also are uniquely placed when it comes to taking punts and creating their own fast-track pathways to the top. Promoters often like to complain that there simply aren’t any women capable of headlining festivals at the moment – firstly, where on earth are they searching for these apparently-elusive talents? Have they not heard of Self Esteem, or Lizzo, or Little Simz?! – but it’s also something of a Catch 22 when there’s little development happening lower down the bill.
Without rising acts getting opportunities to hone their craft and work their way up the rungs from smaller stages, where are these fully-fledged main stage-ready titans suddenly going to manifest themselves from anyway? It’s a crisis that deepens year on year, with every summer of inaction feeding the snake that just keeps eating itself. The hope is that the actions encouraged by the Keychange Pledge can end this supposed stalemate.
“The music industry has a gender problem, with women and gender expansive creators and professionals continuing to be underrepresented in every sector, and at every career level,” explains Francine Gorman, Project Manager at Keychange. “The Keychange Pledge encourages the music industry to take individual and collective responsibility for addressing gender inequity, and asks them to take positive, sustainable steps towards creating more space and opportunities for under-represented genders. Wide Awake is setting a great example in this space,” she says, raising the London day festival, headlined by Caroline Polachek, as an example. “They’re taking steps to ensure that they’re presenting gender representative line-ups, and demonstrating to the wider industry that with considered booking strategies and structures, gender equity can be achieved.”
LNZRT – the agency behind Wide Awake, as well as the running of venues like The Shacklewell Arms and Moth Club – concede that their mission is by no means accomplished just yet, but are hopeful that signing up to the Keychange Pledge is a clear step in the right direction.
“Festivals and all the associated stakeholders have an important role to play when it comes to setting an example for balanced gender representation across the industry,” says director Jamal Guthrie. “We’re by no means perfect but by signing the Keychange Pledge and working with other grassroots organisations, in our role programming at Moth Club and The Shacklewell Arms, increasingly representative line ups at Wide Awake will become an organic part of the booking process. We’ll continue to look to improve both on and off stage but it’s a responsibility festivals of this size need to be undertaking.”
Wide Awake festival takes place at Brockwell Park on May 27. Tickets are on sale now.
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