Argentinian law ups female representation in live
The Argentinian government has implemented a new law that dictates that women must make up at least 30% of the line-up for festivals and other live music events.
The so-called “female quota” (cupo femenino), which will be implemented early next year, is the result of a two-year campaign by over 700 Argentinian musicians to obtain more gender parity at live music events.
The law aims to “achieve effective inclusion of women in live music by means of positive discrimination” and is thought to be the first of its kind in the world.
Organisers failing to comply with the quota will face a fine of up to 6% of the overall takings of the event. The ruling applies to any live music event consisting of three acts or more.
“From now on, access to the stage for women working in music is going to be fairer”
Approved by the senate in May, the law was pushed through the Argentinian chamber of deputies in November, with 133 votes in favour, five against and six abstentions. Argentina’s National Music Institute (Inamu) is responsible for ensuring festivals comply with the quota.
According to Daniel Filmus, president of the Argentinian Chamber of Deputies’ Culture Commission, the law is “an enormous conquest” that “has helped the advancement towards furthering the rights of women in music”.
Senator Anabel Fernández Sagasti, one of the principal supporters of the law, commented that “from now on, access to the stage for women working in music is going to be fairer”, thanking “all the women that make up the music scene” for their “tireless fight”.
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Spain’s MIM appoints new board of directors
Spanish association Women in the Music Industry (Mujeres de la Industria de la Música – MIM) has appointed a new board of directors on the third year from its inauguration.
Carmen Zapata, manager of the Catalan Concert Venues Association (Associació de Sales de Concerts de Catalunya), will stay on as MIM president.
Primavera Pro director Almudena Heredero takes on the role of vice president and treasurer, with Patricia Gabeiras, founder of law firm Gabeiras & Associates, will serve as secretary.
Additional new board members are Ticketmaster’s Celia Carrillo, Anxela Baltar of punk two-piece Bala and I Wanna management, Herminia Martínez of Palosanto agency, Maca Arena of Spanish promoters’ organisation APMusicales, Mar Rojo, who programmes Madrid venue El Sol, and Violeta Hernández, founder of live agency La Suite.
Launched in 2016, MIM provides a platform for female music professionals to gain more visibility and works on ways to address the gender imbalance within all sectors of the industry. MIM was last year’s recipient of Primavera Sound’s Primavera Award.
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Femme It Forward: LN Urban hosts all-female events
Live Nation Urban has announced the launch of Femme It Forward, a multi-format series of all-female curated line-ups, spotlighting the women of the entertainment industry, both on stage and behind the scenes.
The events series will see a host of live shows by legacy artists and emerging acts including Cardi B, City Girls, Jorja Smith, Ari Lennox, Jill Smith, Teyana Taylor and Mahalia, with more to be announced.
The multi-market initiative will also include immersive activations, panel discussions and comedy shows.
“Since our inception in 2017, Live Nation Urban continues to create opportunities for emerging and established urban artists – both on the stage and behind the scenes,” says Heather Lowery, Live Nation Urban vice president of talent and touring.
“It is fitting that we honour the future of music and its continued steps on the path to inclusion”
“This past year has been an exceptional one for women in music and entertainment, and with the incredible contributions of women, it is fitting that we honour the future of music and its continued steps on the path to inclusion,” adds Lowery, who will chair the Black Women in the C-Suite panel, held at the Broccoli City festival on April 26.
Live Nation Urban focuses specifically on hip-hop, R&B and gospel, putting on events including Broccoli City festival in Washington and Philadelphia’s Roots Picnic festival. The company is headed by Shawn Gee, a founding member of management consortium Maverick and manager of hip-hop group the Roots.
Tickets go on sale for the inaugural event series on Friday 19 April at 10 a.m. EST, exclusively on the Live Nation website.
All Femme It Forward shows will donate a portion of proceeds from ticket sales to charitable organisations that support the advancement of women.
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Female fans first in line for ticket sales
Data presented by online statistics portal, Statista, has shown that women generated the majority of traffic to ticketing sites on the first day of ticket sales for a variety of high-profile world tours.
Female fans drove around 73% of traffic to Vivid Seats on the morning that tickets went on sale for K-pop group BTS’ first world stadium tour, Love Yourself: Speak Yourself.
The band sold out five major stadiums across the United States and Europe, including the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles (90,888-cap.), London’s Wembley Stadium (90,000-cap.) and the Stade de France in Paris (80,000-cap.).
Women generated an even higher percentage of traffic for Ariana Grande’s Sweetener world tour (75%), which sees the star perform across Europe and North America.
Female fans also drove more traffic to ticketing pages for Ed Sheeran’s ÷ world tour (64%), Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour and Drake’s Aubrey and the 3 Migos tour.
Only for the Rolling Stones No Filter tour did men have a bigger presence on the ticketing site than women, driving 56% of the traffic.
The data corresponds with information collected by event discovery guide and ticketing outlet, Skiddle, that shows women now buy 13% more live event tickets than men.
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Women dominate ticket buying for live events
New data collected by event discovery guide and ticketing outlet, Skiddle, has revealed that women are buying record numbers of tickets to live music events.
Traditionally, men have been the predominant buyers of tickets to live music events. However, over the past five years, women have grown their market share of overall ticket sales by 22%, with females purchasing on average 13% more live event tickets than men.
The ticketing outlet revealed that women are most dominant in the festival ticket-buying arena. Last year, women bought 65% more music festival tickets than men, an increase by more than a third from the year before.
“An increase in the number of women at live music events can only be a positive thing for music”
Skiddle suggests that a move towards more equal representation on stage, as well as initiatives like Safe Gigs For Women and Girls Against have contributed to the increase in female buyers.
Victoria Bamber, head of campaigns at Skiddle, says the data is “incredibly encouraging”.
“An increase in the number of women at live music events can only be a positive thing for music,” said Bamber.
“Efforts are being made to diversify both on stage and behind the scenes, and it appears that this messaging is filtering through to female music fans who are growing in confidence and making a real impact across gigs, club nights and festivals UK wide.”
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