Discover more Changemaker projects in the Music Sector
The label 365XX Records – one of the first fe*male hip hop labels in Europe, with the project blog 365 Fe*male MC (publication of portraits about fe*male rappers from all over the world every day to create more visibility.)
Bandshe is a data base dedicated for all womxn working in live music. “Music has no gender. So does talent.” This association provides support for women in their professional development, respect for parity and fairer working conditions in order to fight against sexist discrimination in this sector.
Black Artist Database
An international database highlighting Black artists, labels and creatives. This crowd-sourced database provides an easy way to search, filter and directly support the creative output of Black artists globally, via their online profiles.
Black Lives in Music is an organisation advocating for equality in the music industry. Last year they released the report “Being Black in the UK Music Industry.”
Black Music Summit was an annual event celebrating the rich cultural heritage of music of black origin and its contributions to the music industry. The summit was bringing together industry professionals, music lovers, keynote speakers, live performers – all designed to bridge the gap and tackle the issues with racism and diversity in the industry whilst celebrating and platforming black talent
Connect’Her is a platform accessible free of charge for everyone. The aim is to promote connections, mutual help and artistic synergies within the French female electronic music scene. You can look for female artists, collectives and there is a media section dedicated to female artists and DJs news.
The F-List is the Directory of UK Female+ Musicians, empowering female and gender-expansive people to start and sustain music careers. It offers musicians, groups and music companies in the UK a simple way to connect with profile and professional opportunities. This is an absolutely free service as they are supported by private donations and charitable funds. You can add your entry as well – find more info and submit your profile here.
Check out this podcast episode on F-List, featuring Vick Bain and Brix Smith.
Future Female Sounds is a non-profit organisation, community and booking agency focused exclusively on women & gender minority DJs, founded in 2017 and based in Copenhagen, Denmark. They’re on a mission “to make DJ culture accessible to girls globally!” They run local and global DJ Programmes where they arrange DJ workshops, master classes, and network meetings for womxn and gender minorities.
GIRLS I RATE (GIR) was founded to create a platform and voice for women in particular songwriters and producers to collaborate, celebrate and empower each other. It was formed to bring together the talent, influencers, advocates and passion we all share.
HelvetiaRockt is the Swiss coordination office and networking platform for female and non-binary musicians in jazz, pop and rock. Festival line-ups have become more equal, they set up an online music directory for FINTA persons in the music business, they designed the Diversity Roadmap, they do networking events, workshops for young FINTA musicians, and more.
Keychange is a global network and movement working towards gender equality in the music industry. Keychange consists of partners collaborating from 12 different countries, working proactively to make change. Sign the pledge, apply to their programme and join them in their campaign for parity – you’ll find more info here.
MaLisa Foundation is a foundation financing research on gender equality in the entertainment sector, with one focus on the music industry.
MEWEM Europe is a project to implement and manage mentoring programmes for women in the music industry on a European scale. The project’s goal is that in the future, more women will also shape the music industry in leadership positions and as founders. Therefore, the project promotes access to management positions and entrepreneurship as well as the development of management skills among young women in the music industry. In addition to France and Germany, programmes are held in Belgium, Austria, Romania and Spain.
Check out our podcasts with MEWEM coordinators and mentees here and here.
Moving the needle is a network of educators, communicators and mentors to women in the industry. They help support women in the UK music industry through their entire career: they want to let students know about the multitude of roles available in the music industry – and that they don’t have to hold a mic to join us. More here.
Music Leaders Network is a programme that delivers life-changing leadership for mid-career women and non-binary people in the music industry. It supports people to achieve their full potential. Based in the UK, the programme is run by Remi Harris MBE and Tamara Gal-On, who were featured on IMPALA’s 20minuteswith Podcast. For more information, connect with Music Leaders Network on LinkedIn.
Music Women Austria was founded in 2016 as a platform of female musicians, connecting musicians and highlighting existing shortcomings in the music scene. It’s a platform facilitating the sharing of experiences through small roundtables and via social media and a network of support and exchange of information for female musicians.
Music Women* Germany is the Network for all music women*, female-identifying and non-binary individuals in the German music industry. The Music Women* Germany initiative was launched at Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg for an audience of 400 people and including the release of the first nationwide database for female* experts and artists. Each regional Music Women* network is supported by a local partner entity. Information on the structure of the local Music Women* networks can be found here.
MYM is a platform which gives visibility to women as creators in music. Users can share suggestions for new additions to complete the database. Discover the list of artists and the search tool with filters to find what you are looking for. The tags mark musical genre, country, period, instrument… and can help you discover great artists.
Open Music Lab – an organisation giving free music workshops to underrepresented communities in Berlin.
Parenthood In Music is an initiative to improve working conditions for parents in the music industry. Parenthood remains one of the main drivers of inequality in the workplace, often resulting in mothers and single parents not holding managerial positions or changing industries.
Shesaid.so is a global community of women, gender minorities and allies in the music industry. The shesaid.so community spreads over all sectors of the music industry. Its mission is “to connect and empower underrepresented communities towards a more equitable music industry for all, one woman or gender minority at a time.”
SLÄS is a group of female music executives who provide a series of engaging writing camps entitled “Her Songs For Him” to create opportunities for non-male creators.
Sisterhood Collection presented by Flore -“If you want to discover/book talented women, this is the place to go.” POLAAR’s label manager, DJ and producer Flore launched Sisterhood Collection, a monthly playlist to highlight female electronic music producers, available on all platforms.
Small Green Shoots is a youth-led charity offering an alternative to the conventional system for education, training and entry into the jobs market. We help young people facing difficult life circumstances gain access to the entertainment and creative industries through paid classroom learning, vocational training, internships and access to creative grants. This allows our young workers (the “Shoots”) to build a career, rather than just seek a job.
The Cat’s Mother is a network of women in the Music and Creative Industries offering voluntary consultancy for young aspiring creatives, aged 18-25. This network was founded by Niki Evangelou and Natalie Wade in 2019 after working together at a youth-led music charity for 6 years and realised “the difference in the way the boys’ careers developed compared to the way the girls’ seemed to.”
Themis Vertrauensstelle is an independent and inter-company counselling centre against sexual harassment and violence in the cultural and media industry. We offer legal and psychological counselling to victims, witnesses and employers.
This is Upfront is a network of and for women, non-binary and trans music producers. Their mission is to create and facilitate a network that generates unique opportunities for both producers and music industry. They organise songwriting camps, listening sessions, workshops and showcases.
Changemaker podcasts & reports
We Are the Unheard was a podcast series providing a platform for everybody who has ever felt unheard. Eve Horne was bringing unapologetic, open-hearted, honest conversations and stories with the aim of bringing a change of perspectives. Listen here.
Why Not Her podcast (in English) – Why Not Her? Podcast series hosted by Linda Coogan Byrne about amplifying the voices of women across the entertainment, arts, creative, political and activism world.
Pep talk (in German) – My Ugly Clementine – Sophie, Mira, Kathrin and Nastasja – alternately invited guests from the music world to chat with them about backgrounds, sources of inspiration, work processes, tricks or their path and the hurdles they have overcome.
Gender and power relations in culture – by Yohann Floch, Marie Le Sourd, Marta Keil, Asa Richardsdottir, Carolyn Auclair.
A seat at the table – by Womxn in CTRL (July 2021)
