International Women's History Month

By: Lillian Creasy

The women getting things done at OM

Right to left: Erin Anderson, Miriam DeYoung, Grace Carey-Hill, Maddy Hicks

March is Women’s History Month, where we celebrate and recognize women’s achievements and contributions throughout history. We also use this as a time to uplift the next generation of women and girls. Here at Olivia Management, we have a powerful team of hardworking, dedicated, driven, and most importantly supportive women leading the way.

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History of women’s history month:

Many don’t know, but Women’s History Month began as Women’s History Week. It began as a local celebration, in 1978, in Santa Rosa, California, selected to be the week of March 8th to correspond with International Women’s Day. After the movement began to spread, women’s groups and historians lobbied for national recognition. In February of 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8th as National Women’s History Week. Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed resolutions authorizing the President to proclaim March 8th as Women’s History Month, each year. Since 1995, every president has continued to dedicate March to Women’s History Month.

influential women in music:

Aretha Franklin - “Queen of Soul” and first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, she championed civil rights and women’s rights.
Patsy Cline - One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century and one of the first female solo stars in country music, known for pioneering country-pop crossover.
Dolly Parton - Outstanding country music artist, who uses her platform to advocate for women’s rights and early childhood education.
Tina Turner - Known for her powerful vocals and stage presence, she serves as a symbol of empowerment, inspiring women to pursue their dreams.

“My legacy is that I stayed on course… from the beginning to the end, because I believed in something inside of me.” - Tina Turner

Organizations supporting women in music:

• SoundGirls

• Women’s Audio Mission

• We Are Moving the Needle

• Femme House

• Women in Music

If you want to check out more info on events and celebrations, women’s history, artwork, and more, visit the official website for Women’s History Month.

Female Representation In Music Industry Executive Positions Is Lacking

By Madison Moll

Within the past 2 weeks, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s newest report entitled “New report shows diversity on the charts, but not in executive ranks of music companies” highlighted some not-so-shocking statistics about women in music industry roles, specifically in higher-up executive positions.

The study examined executive diversity in three ways: among CEOs and presidents across 70 major and independent companies, across senior management teams at nine major music companies, and in executive roles across 119 companies from the VP-level and above in different industry categories.

Graphic creation credit to Instagram account @AMPLIFYHERVOICE

As an artist management company run mostly by women, it is interesting to see such little representation in other large areas of the industry. Covering 4,060 executives from the vice president level to C-Suite roles across 119 companies and industry categories including record labels (reported 11.7% women in executive roles), publishing (reported 22.2% of women in executive roles), streaming (reported 7.1% women in executive roles), live music (reported 6.7% women in executive roles), and radio (reported 20% women in executive roles) (See image above).

Image credited to Annenberg USC Research

Next in other major positions, amongst 70 major and independent music companies, only 13.9% of the people in the roles of CEO, Chairmen, and Presidents were reported to be women. This is more of a median statistic compared to the previous findings in the five different industry categories.

Figure 2 image credited to Annenberg USC Research

And finally, data provided from 9 major music companies broke down and reported their percentages for women in leadership positions in areas such as Music Groups (31.6%), Radio & Streaming (23.4%), and Live Music & Concert Promotion (40.6%). The highest being Live Music & Concert Promotion is a step in the right direction for inclusion and equality, but there still are miles required to get to full inclusion of women in music industry leadership roles

As women and advocates for women’s equality in executive roles in the music industry, it is crucial for you to let your voice be heard and to speak out about inequality in these roles so that we all can see change!

To read more in-depth about their research and reportings, check out the full article from Annenberg USC Research and check out Amplify Her Voice to read more on their blog about female empowerment and equality in the music industry.