FEATURE:
Turning of the Tide
IN THIS PHOTO: Kylie Minogue won the Best Pop Dance Recording GRAMMY for Padam Padam on 4th February, 2024 in Los Angeles, California/PHOTO CREDIT: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Is An Historic Night at the GRAMMYs a Sign Female Dominance and Progression Will Continue Through This Year?
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THE music has a long way to go…
IMAGE CREDIT: Beth Garrabrant
when it comes to making women equal and ensuring they are heard. In terms of misogyny and sexism, this is something worryingly rife through the industry. Festival headliners are still largely male. There are a lot of issues to sort out. When it comes to award ceremonies and rewarding women for their achievements, this is something that is changing. Maybe this is the first sign that female dominance is going to define this year. It is a shame reward representation does not mirror necessarily into festivals and even radio playlists. I shall come to an article from The Guardian who recently discussed women dominating music and how there has been this incredible shift. Last night’s GRAMMYs saw women taken home awards in many of the biggest categories. Aside from Taylor Swift setting records and also announcing a new album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, it was a great night for women in musi!. Showing that male bias cannot continue. That they are dominating and, more than likely, this is going to continue for years more:
“Album of the year
Jon Batiste – World Music Radio
boygenius – The Record
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Janelle Monáe – The Age of Pleasure
Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
Taylor Swift – Midnights – WINNER
SZA – SOS
Record of the year
Jon Batiste – Worship
boygenius – Not Strong Enough
Miley Cyrus – Flowers – WINNER
Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For? from Barbie: The Album
Victoria Monét – On My Mama
Olivia Rodrigo – Vampire
Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero
SZA – Kill Bill
Best new artist
Gracie Abrams
Fred again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét – WINNER
The War and Treaty
Song of the year
Lana Del Rey – A&W
Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero
Jon Batiste – Butterfly
Dua Lipa – Dance the Night from Barbie
Miley Cyrus – Flowers
SZA – Kill Bill
Olivia Rodrigo – Vampire
Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For? from Barbie – WINNER
Best pop vocal album
Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
Ed Sheeran – “-” (Subtract)
Taylor Swift – Midnights – WINNER
Best R&B song
Halle – Angel
Robert Glasper featuring SiR and Alex Isley – Back to Love
Coco Jones – ICU
Victoria Monét – On My Mama
SZA – Snooze – WINNER
Best música urbana album
Rauw Alejandro – Saturno
Karol G – Mañana Será Bonito – WINNER
Tainy – Data
Best pop solo performance
Miley Cyrus – Flowers – WINNER
Doja Cat – Paint the Town Red
Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For? from Barbie
Olivia Rodrigo – Vampire
Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero
Best progressive R&B album
6lack – Since I Have a Lover
Diddy – The Love Album: Off the Grid
Terrace Martin and James Fauntleroy – Nova
Janelle Monáe – The Age of Pleasure
SZA – SOS – WINNER
Best R&B performance
Chris Brown – Summer Too Hot
Robert Glasper featuring SiR and Alex Isley – Back to Love
Coco Jones – ICU – WINNER
Victoria Monét – How Does It Make You Feel
SZA – Kill Bill
Best folk album
Dom Flemons – Traveling Wildfire
The Milk Carton Kids – I Only See the Moon
Joni Mitchell – Joni Mitchell at Newport (Live) – WINNER
Nickel Creek – Celebrants
Old Crow Medicine Show – Jubilee
Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
Rufus Wainwright – Folkocracy
Best pop duo/group performance
Miley Cyrus featuring Brandi Carlile – Thousand Miles
Lana Del Rey featuring Jon Batiste – Candy Necklace
Labrinth featuring Billie Eilish – Never Felt So Alone
Taylor Swift featuring Ice Spice – Karma
SZA featuring Phoebe Bridgers – Ghost in the Machine – WINNER
Best pop dance recording
David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray – Baby Don’t Hurt Me
Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding – Miracle
Kylie Minogue – Padam Padam – WINNER
Bebe Rexha and David Guetta – One in a Million
Troye Sivan – Rush
Best R&B album
Babyface – Girls Night Out
Coco Jones – What I Didn’t Tell You (Deluxe)
Emily King – Special Occasion
Victoria Monét – Jaguar II – WINNER
Summer Walker – Clear 2: Soft Life EP
Best song written for visual media
Barbie World from Barbie the Album, Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. and Onika Maraj, songwriters (Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice featuring Aqua)
Dance the Night from “Barbie the Album, Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
I’m Just Ken from Barbie the Album, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Ryan Gosling)
Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Music From and Inspired By, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Robyn Fenty and Temilade Openiyi, songwriters (Rihanna)
What Was I Made For? from Barbie the Album, Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish) — WINNER
Best African music performance
Asake and Olamide – Amapiano
Burna Boy – City Boys
Davido featuring Musa Keys – Unavailable
Ayra Starr – Rush
Tyla – Water – WINNER
Best alternative music album
Arctic Monkeys – The Car
boygenius – The Record – WINNER
Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Gorillaz – Cracker Island
PJ Harvey – I Inside the Old Year Dying
Best alternative music performance
Alvvays – Belinda Says
Arctic Monkeys – Body Paint
boygenius – Cool About It
Lana Del Rey – A&W
Paramore – This Is Why – WINNER
Best rock album
Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
Greta Van Fleet – Starcatcher
Metallica – 72 Seasons
Paramore – This Is Why – WINNER
Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman…
Best rock song
The Rolling Stones – Angry
Olivia Rodrigo – Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl
Queens of the Stone Age – Emotion Sickness
boygenius – Not Strong Enough – WINNER
Foo Fighters – Rescued
Best rock performance
Arctic Monkeys – Sculptures of Anything Goes
Black Pumas – More Than a Love Song
boygenius – Not Strong Enough – WINNER
Foo Fighters – Rescued
Metallica – Lux Æterna”.
I do think that the tide is turning. Normally, award ceremonies struggle to acknowledge and celebrate women. After years of such fantastic music from them, there have been no excuses anymore. The GRAMMYs is the latest example of how women are ruling across so many genres and areas. If there are some genres where they are under-represented and nominated – Rap being one; female producers not being nominated -, then that is going to change before too long. Things are not rosy and celebration across the board. Whilst the GRAMMYs showed that some of music’s biggest and most successful queens have been recognised, that is not to say that things are fixed. In fact, rather than the GRAMMYs being a major shift towards equality and women feeling seen in the industry, it is at least a moment that will start to turn the tide. A knock-on affect that hopefully will spread through all levels of music. The Guardian recently wrote how there is this hopeful new era for women in music – against a backdrop of a recent parliamentary report in the U.K. that makes for disturbing reading:
“Gaining greater stature and confidence in the industry, the story is not repeated at either the very bottom or the very top of the business. Female recording studio technicians and session musicians still have harrowing accounts of the obstacles and insults they have faced at work, while the most influential labels and music publishing companies are top-heavy with men.
An oppressive emphasis on the physical appearance of female artists made their life particularly hard, the parliamentary committee report found, analysing evidence gathered by a parliamentary inquiry that began last summer.
Limited opportunities to advance in the industry and persistently lower levels of pay are also hurdles, while racial discrimination holds back many black women from taking up influential roles in the music business, the findings suggested.
Most worrying was testimony about an enduring “culture of silence” that means women are often expected to sit next to known abusers at industry events. The only alternative is a potentially career-ending showdown. “Much of the evidence we received has had to remain confidential, including commentary on television shows and household names,” the report read. “That is highly regrettable but demonstrates the extent of the use of NDAs [non-disclosure agreements].”
IN THIS PHOTO: Ellie Goulding
Goulding is one of the prominent performers to use her secure position to speak out. Explaining the unpleasant environment that female artists can encounter, she recalled “a slight feeling of discomfort” whenever she walked into a studio to find she was alone with “one or two men”.
“There are still few women in really powerful positions in the record companies, considering at least half the consumers of music are women,” said Smith, “There used to be a teaboy route up through to the top of a record company, but if you were a 17-year-old girl, would you really want to be there with no status and all that male banter? It’s good that the music schools are now training women for these roles, because it would be hard for a young woman to put up with all that male stupidity. You can see why so many of them say ‘I’m out.’”
And the numbers don’t lie. There has been a huge surge up the charts. In 2022 only two female musicians cracked the top 10 of biggest songs, with Kate Bush reprising the success of her 1985 single Running Up That Hill, on the back of television’s Stranger Things, and pop singer Cat Burns making an impact with Go.
It is the same heartening story in America. A study by the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that the share of women involved in last year’s hits in the US had increased to 35%. The number of female artists has reached the highest since 2012.
“Whilst work continues towards achieving full representation for women across the music industry, 2023 has been a brilliant year for women in the Official Charts,” said the BPI’s Twist. “There is a more diverse range of recording artists than ever achieving great success with the backing of their labels. This should be celebrated, but without complacency, and our work in the music industry continues to ensure that this becomes the norm”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Coco Jones won the GRAMMY for Best R&B Performance for ICU/PHOTO CREDIT: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
It has been wonderful seeing all the reaction to the GRAMMY wins. This sign that music from women is dominating. I guess it only tells some of the story. Some of the more commercial women are rightly being acknowledged. If you look at the wave of other female artists across music who struggle to get headline slots and festival places; those who have to struggle to get onto radio or to be taken seriously; those who feel safe and secure in the industry, it is evident that we have a long way to go. The music industry still has a big problem with misogyny and inequality. This is not going to be corrected anytime soon. What high-profile ceremonies like the GRAMMYs show is that women near the very top are ruling. I hope this is a sign that women throughout music should be respected and given more opportunity. You can feel things starting to change. Going through this year, we need to call to account any incident where women are being overlooked. Tackle misogyny and abuse through this industry. Ensure that pay is levelled and that more women are given roles in executive positions – especially for Black women, who are a group vastly under-represented. If now has never been a better time for women in the industry in terms of recognition – though the bar has been extremely low for decades now -, that is going to increase and build. There does need to be an industry-wide trickle-down where every issue and inequality is tackled. Ensuring that it is not only elite female artists getting credit and reward: this kudos and celebration needs to extend much more extensively. I am hopeful. The GRAMMYs shows that the tide is turning now. It will be a long time before we can truly say that sexism and misogyny has been eradicated, yet every bit of good news is reason for encouragement. We definitely need to see more of this…
THROUGHOUT this year