Survey finds 80% of female artists have experienced gender bias when gigging

The live music marketplace, GigPig, has surveyed 100 artist around the inequalities within the music industry.

This is in support of the International Women’s Day theme of #EmbraceEquity to ensure an inclusive world is a must-have, not nice-to-have.

Female performing artists have struggled with, ‘guys jumping on the decks thinking they can do a better job’, ‘females being booked based on their looks, not DJing ability’ and ‘being treated as less knowledgeable about the technicalities of gigging’.

The survey also highlighted the shocking fact that one in ten females said that they have also experienced sexual misconduct at gigs.

To help reduce gender bias in the live music scene, female artists are calling on venues to step up safety measures and ensure equality when booking artists.

Suggestions to improve the current landscape of the gigging scene included 84% of respondents wishing there were clear lines of communication with venue management in case of issues with rude or aggressive customers.72% said that Crowd management and security around the performance area need to be improved, alongside 64% suggesting that venue policies and processes to deal with intoxicated customers need to be more strictly enforced.

Anna Lynch, a Manchester-based vocalist commented on the issues which she has experienced.

Lynch said: “I think safety is a big part of it, a lot of the venues I sing in don't always have a calm space for the artist in between sets, this means that on weekends you're in the thick of the night out chaos, and that's hard when it is your job week in week out.

“I just want to see more female players, every single gig is me with male players and I would love to see more female keys players/ drummers, guitarists etc.”

Multi-genre Salford DJ, Loz Newy added: “Venues can help by ensuring that security personnel will be frequently accessible during gigs and that DJ concerns should be actioned and taken seriously.

“Venues can also help by ensuring that there's an equal balance when it comes to bookings, pay and that there's adequate provision of safe and lockable places like changing rooms and toilets for all.”

In response to the survey, GigPig’s Chief Marketing Officer, Anna Gledson said: “The results of our survey sends a clear message that all participants of the industry must do more to ensure female artists have the resources and support they need to have an equitable environment to perform music and be successful.”

The survey demonstrates that there is still plenty of work to be done to achieve equity within the gigging scene and GigPig will strive to support artists and venues in making this change.

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