The KIEM Funded Project – Gender Dynamics in the Music Industry supports four workshops/symposiums in 2018 and 2019
1. Gender Quotas in Music Festival Programmes
Sept. 21, 2018, University of Groningen
During this symposium, many participants from the popular and electronic music scenes in The Netherlands were invited to present research and participate within a panel discussion on gender dynamics and, more specifically quota discrepancies within festivals and concerts up and down the country, trying to gain more insight into why there aren’t as many female agents onstage and off-stage in even to this day. The research presented was specifically focused upon the Dutch music industry fields and the purpose of this was to allow students and scholars from the University of Groningen to gain more insight into occupation specific experiences and quandries during an insightful Q&A session after the panel.
Panel speakers:
Singer Songwriter: Rita Zipora, Talent Buyer: Hilde Spille, Creative Director at AIR Events: Tom van Wijk, Researcher & Co-Founder of Chicks in the Bizz: Marjan Wynia , Associate Professor of Popular Music and Jazz & KIEM Project Overseeer: Kristin McGee
2. Eurosonic Panel on Talent Development Programs: Hoe Krijgen We Meer Vrouwen op het Podium? (“How to Promote More Women on Music Stages”)
Jan 17th 2019, Eurosonic
At this year’s Eurosonic Noorderslag conference, we were delighted to be part of a panel discussing the methods for the future for bringing more attention to female performers on stage. The discussion was mainly focused on festival line-ups and what mechanisms inhibit women from bridging the gap. Music education maintains a good balance, however other fields allow men to prevail. So we pose the questions; how can talent platforms play a better role in distribution, how can they attract more women? And, how can they prevent women from leaving the industry at later stages?
Panel speakers:
Kristin McGee (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen), Li Sang Ong (Conservatorium van Amsterdam), Chris Moorman (Popronde), Jorien Stravens (Popsport NL), Moderator: Sarah Oranje (Friendly Fire)
3. Hearing Gender Dynamics in Popular Music?
March 8th, 2019, University of Groningen
Crafting Creative Jobs in the Music Industry: Successful Women Speak on Occupying Male-Dominated Creative Roles
On this year’s International Women’s Day, we host a symposium dedicated to the topic of segregation within the arts and music industries with special attention to the notion of the artist archetype and its conceptually masculine outlook. We aim to examine why women often occupy roles in administrative and marketing positions and are underrepresented in creative roles such as A&R, production, composing, or as performing artists. On March 8th, industry professionals who occupy such roles will form a panel in order to talk about their experiences in this male-dominated world. How do they cope with biased evaluations on their creative work, what gender barriers do they encounter and how can they thrive and succeed in their jobs?
Panel speakers:
Creative Strategist Jo Sandow; Managing Director Laura Bell (BMG), Record Producer Marg van Eenbergen, and Performing Artist Cissy Joan (Urban House Groningen); and Researcher/Scholar of Musicology & Cultural Studies L.J. Müller
4. Symposium on Gender Dynamics in the Music Industry
May 17-18, 2019, University of Groningen
The Department of Arts, Culture and Media in connection with NWO KIEM at the University of Groningen is pleased to announce a two-day symposium to be held on May 17-18, 2019. The symposium will bring together both scholars and industry professionals to share insights on the topic of Gender Dynamics in the Music Industry. The intention to is share resources and create a dialogue to better address the lack of gender parity within the music industry and not only within the performance sphere. We welcome scholars and industry professionals from all genders of music from classical to folk and popular musics.
We invite speakers who have carried out extensive research in the fields of popular music, gender theory, critical race theory, and also the relationship between modern technologies and the popular music industry as it stands. We will hear their discussions in relation to issues of gender discrimination in a modern world of changing social dichotomies and emerging media that are greatly affecting paradigms related to gender dynamics in the creative industries.
Key note speakers:
Marion Leonard (Senior Lecturer in the Department of Music at the University of Liverpool
Ann Werner, PhD (Researcher of Popular Music Studies and Feminist Theory)