Issue of scarcity of women in music remains unresolved

As part of our Women in African Music theme, Music In Africa spoke to female artists in East Africa, as well as one of their male mentors, to find out just what it means to be a woman in the music industry.

In a New York Times article titled Gender Diversity in the Music Industry? The Numbers Are Grim, author and journalist Ben Sisario paints a gloomy picture. Quoting a study by Stacy L Smith, an associate professor at the University of Southern California and the founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, Sisario illustrates the state of affairs in the US.

Of the 899 individuals nominated in the last six Grammy Awards, 90.7% were men and 9.3% women. The study found that women were most likely to appear in the Best New Artist category. (This year, three of the five Best New Artist nominees were women: Alessia Cara (winner), Julia Michaels and SZA. The only woman up for Album of the Year was Lorde.)

The numbers are much lower among music professionals behind the scenes. Of the 2 767 songwriters credited, 12.3% were women. Female producers were even fewer at just 2% in a subset of 300 songs in the same period, the study found.

When Variety asked Recording Academy president Neil Portnow about #GrammysSoMale, a hashtag started to protest male dominance at the Grammys, he blamed women for not working hard enough.

So are women not working hard enough, or are there underlying issues that are bogging them down? Late last year the Harvey Weinstein scandal brought to the fore the systemic culture of sexual abuse in Hollywood. More than 90 women came out to accuse the mega-powerful Hollywood producer of sexual abuse and inappropriate conduct. The hashtag #MeToo uncovered more leading men who had victimised women by demanding sexual favours in exchange for career advancement. Could this be one of the reasons there’s a scarcity of women in various entertainment disciplines?

In East Africa the state of affairs is no different. The music industry is dominated by men at performance, production, logistical and the managerial level. Just last month, Tanzanian female star Nuru the Light decried the state of affairs for female artists, shedding some light on an issue that affects the entire East African region.

“I don’t like it when people ignorantly advise artists to just work hard,” she said in a Bongo 5 video interview. “There are those who don’t make it, and it’s not because they are not talented, it’s not because they don’t have the ability, but because of conflicts and other bad things in this industry that we need to change.”

Although she was vague in her comments (“other bad things”) and avoided to categorically mention the issues, her comments point to an underlying issue: fear of reprisal and the silencing of women.

Speaking to Music In Africa, gospel artist Mercy Masika gave an overview of the situation for women in the Kenyan music industry, ascribing success to aggressiveness (which most social scientists consider as a prominent psychological trait in men). Masika burst onto the scene in 2015 thanks the song ‘Mwema’, which has amassed more than 7.5 million views. But it took her almost 20 years of showbiz obscurity to find success.

“I don’t think it’s any harder for women,” she said. “It boils down to how aggressive an individual is. All artists are not appreciated at the beginning but you have to remain true to your calling. Content is king. The best solution is to be unique and effective in your outreach.”

Angel Benard got her break alongside Masika with the collaborative song ‘Huyu Yesu’ in late 2016. The Tanzanian star has maintained her steady rise with consequent releases gathering momentum.

“I think it's hard for anyone to make it in the industry, gender is not an issue,” Benard said. “I’ve seen men fight to make it in the industry as much as women do. And this happens on both spheres – gospel music and secular music. It all depends on what your vision is and where you see yourself.”

But Benard admits that there’s a lot of pressure on women in the industry. The biggest challenge, she says, is that many women fail to hold on their artistic vision without making compromises.

Nina Muhoza of Rwandan duo Charly and Nina says women in the music industry must be ready to challenge male structures if they want to be successful.

“We worked hard and never gave up – because the industry is dominated by men and you just have to fight your way to the top,” Muhoza said. “I think it's the same in other music industries in Africa. Our traditions and cultures don’t view women very positively and many people are still stuck there.”

Her advice to upcoming female artists? “Just put your story out there and show them that it's possible with hard work and persistence. Keep going, keep fighting and keep the faith until you make it.”

Kenyan music producer Eric Musyoka has worked with and mentored many artists – male and female. He agrees that the dynamics of the industry favour men.

“There is a general portrayal of female artists as sex symbols. Their objectification is rife in music circles,” Musyoka said. “Many women don’t feel comfortable selling out and even the most talented female musicians will generally congregate and sing in gospel circles where they have a huge presence compared to secular circles.

“Women have to outperform their male counterparts to stand out. You tend to see women overly sexualised in their presentation. This has generally been accepted when it should not be the norm. Janet Jackson had an incident with Justin Timberlake and her career took a hit while Justin's took off.”

Musyoka was referring to the 2004 Super Bowl halftime performance scandal, tagged Nipplegate, in which Justin Timberlake ripped a part of Janet Jackson’s costume to reveal her pierced nipple to millions of viewers. Jackson’s songs and videos were banned from several TV and radio outlets while a number of organisations associated with the performance got fined.

Even though there are many questions to be answered about the scarcity of women in the music industry, it seems that female artist are taking on the barriers standing in their way. From the interviews Music In Africa conducted, it’s evident that female musicians are done with politely asking men to give them the green light to a successful career. Those up for a fight are claiming it with hard work, persistence and aggressiveness. But what if doing so means that women have to take on male characteristics to win the power battles awaiting them? We’ll leave this question to the theories of feminist scholars and social scientists.