Women are headlining the future of live music
From arena takeovers to sellout shows, women are reshaping the live music industry, but challenges still lie ahead.
As Women’s History Month draws to a close, MusicAlly sat down with Emma Bownes, SVP of venue programming at AEG International, to reflect and discuss the progress being made by women in the live music industry.
A few weeks ago, we celebrated International Women’s Day by spotlighting the achievements of women across the music industry. But now, it’s time to zoom in on the live music industry.
A decade of change on the biggest stages
Across the live music industry, female headliners are taking the world by storm. At London’s O2 Arena, one of AEG’s largest venues, the growth in female headliners over the past decade is hard to ignore. Ten years ago, just 8 out of 192 shows were fronted by women. Today, that number has jumped to 38, an increase of over 300%. For example, Ariana Grande has an upcoming 10-show European exclusive leg, while Raye and Olivia Dean have six sold out nights each at the venue.
It’s clear that female artists are becoming a core part of the live calendar, whether it be multi-night runs at arenas or stadiums. They’re selling out too. But this isn’t just about individual success stories, it reflects a wider shift across the live industry.
Challenges still remain
For all the progress, the live music industry still has work to do.
Bownes points out that there’s a lingering perception that it’s a male-domianted space. With that, women are still more likely to be labelled as “difficult” or “aggressive” for expressing their opinions. Then there’s the issue of image. Female artists continue to face a disproportionate level of focus around their appearance, compared to their male peers.
These aren’t new conversions either, but they’re still far from resolved.
Moving forward
The encouraging part is that the industry isn’t standing still. Within AEG, Bownes points out its ‘gold’ status when it comes to EDI. So, there’s a clear push from organisations to support a more inclusive music industry.
The bottom line is that women are no longer a support act in today’s live music industry. They’re center stage and they’re the ones driving the live music industry forward. So while there’s still ground to cover, the direction of travel is clear.
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