Women in the Music Business

For the past one hundred years or so, women have been a big part of the music business. Even when women were fighting for equal rights elsewhere, women in the music business have always had a leg up on their compatriots because their voices produce not only a different register of sound than men, but also a different timbre. Therefore, there have always been women in the music industry.

Granted, the tradition of castrati and government policies that kept women off the stage altogether have put a few roadblocks in the trajectory of woman’s rise in the music business, overall female performers have always been welcome in the music industry. Around one hundred years ago, when music distribution through phonograph records became commercialized, women’s voices were heard all over the country. At that same time there was an increased demand for accompaniment and female piano players were often used at a cheaper rate than men.

Women in the music industry have come a long way since then. Today, there are many female artists that are not only performers but also songwriters and producers. An outstanding example is Ani DiFranco. She writes and performs her own music and is also the founder of Righteous Babe Records, an independent label that has stayed independent even after Ani gained a huge fan base. Other lesser known women in the music business such as folk singer/songwriter Carrie Underwood also carry on their performance career in conjunction with political activism and charity work. Women in the music business have made a huge impact both onstage and off.