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What’s going on… with gender-balanced festival lineups?

IQ speaks with principals from Denmark's Roskilde and Spain's Primavera Sound to uncover tips about booking a gender-balanced lineup

By IQ on 15 Jan 2025

Marta Pallarès & Thomas Sønderby Jepsen


At the International Festival Forum last year, music biz directory and data platform ROSTR revealed that across 50 festival lineups in Europe, the number of men on stage during headline performances was up to 92% (from 90% in 2023).

ROSTR’s analysis disclosed that across those 50 events, the gender balance for all acts saw the split as 69% male, 22% female, mixed 9%, and non-binary less than 1%. Two of the 50 surveyed events – Denmark’s Roskilde Festival and Primavera Sound in Barcelona – have already achieved gender balance, skewing the figures even further.

In an effort to help other events improve their gender balance ahead of this year, IQ spoke with principals at both festivals to learn how they managed to be so far ahead of the curve.

How difficult was it to achieve gender balance at your event?
“We realised that in 2018, 35% of the artists on our lineup were women, and that was without trying,” says Marta Pallarès at Primavera Sound. “So, then we thought, ‘What if we tried?’ And in the following year, we achieved our first-ever gender-balanced lineup, and we called it the ‘new normal’ because, to us, it should be normal to have as many women as men on stage.”

“I find the topic to be fairly straightforward,” comments Thomas Sønderby Jepsen, Roskilde’s head of music. “Having a balanced programme should be a given by now. That said, our programme has not always been as balanced as it is now, so it is something we have become more and more aware of and worked towards. Our team of bookers and scouts is also quite diverse, and it helps us to reach broader and experience more tendencies and talents. As a cultural institution, we have a responsibility – and an obligation – to seek out, embrace, and incorporate the agendas of tomorrow, striving to create meaningful change.”

“There are a lot of great female and non-binary artists, so it is just a matter of being curious”

What tips would you give other events who want to achieve gender balance?
MP: “Look at your own Spotify list, your Grammy nominations, your chart sale. You can’t deny that women are making music – they are topping all the charts right now. And the more aware you are of the fact that maybe you’re not doing enough, the more you can work to improve that. For example, we have now also started counting the non-binary artists, to improve our diversity there.”

TSJ: “There are a lot of great female and non-binary artists, so it is just a matter of being curious – go experience and book some of those names.

“Another approach I would recommend is focusing on your poster and billings. These can serve as a powerful platform for showcasing diversity. For instance, you might highlight a specific artist or spotlight a trend directly on your poster to make a meaningful statement. At Roskilde Festival, curating a balanced and inclusive programme is a top priority for driving meaningful change.

“Equally important, however, is cultivating an engaged community that can also amplify the message behind your efforts. The connection between artists and audience plays a vital role in building this engagement and atmosphere, so paying attention to this interaction is key to creating an impactful event.”

“Every time you book [a female artist/band] you are creating a more diverse environment for everyone”

Have you seen any changes in the festival demographics or audience behaviour?
TSJ: “Our community mirrors society – not only in Denmark but on a global scale. And like society, we evolve all the time, driven by the active engagement of our participants. One thing that characterises our participants is that they also pay a lot of attention to topics like diversity, inclusion, and how we treat each other within the festival community.”

MP: “Every time you book [a female artist/band] you are creating a more diverse environment for everyone. And this is good for business: if you’re catering to a more diverse audience with a more diverse lineup, you’re going to sell more tickets because there are more people interested. We released the Primavera Sound lineup some weeks ago, [and we’re already] sold out of full tickets.

“Also, our sponsors are big supporters, because as a brand, you want to be associated with something like this: to know that your brand is aligning with fans’ values.”

Christina Hazboun (Keychange) will run a workshop on gender-balancing events at ILMC 37 on 26 February.

 


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