Women account for less than 30% of signed intellectual property (IP)-generating creators across the music business, according to a new report from nonprofit She Is The Music. The study identifies 63 companies and professionals that have reached gender parity on their rosters.
The report, produced with a music data platform, analyzes representation across record labels, publishers, management companies and booking agencies. It finds that women make up 29.7% of rostered IP-generating creators. Among professionals representing creators, women account for 26.7% of managers and 25.9% of agents.
50% Club and leading rosters
The 63 companies and professionals that have achieved gender parity are recognized in the report as the 50% Club. Scale is not a barrier: three agencies with more than 100 creators crossed the 50% threshold.
- Sebastian LeTellier of Raw Material has the largest percentage of women on a manager roster at 81.8%.
- Shirin Nury of Creative Artists Agency (CAA) leads agents with 78.8% women.
- Sandbox Entertainment has the highest percentage among management companies at 66.7%.
- Mouthwatering Records is the only record label to reach gender parity, at 55.9% women.
Major companies and recommendations
Among major agencies, labels and publishers, CAA (38.6%), Universal Music Group (34.2%) and Concord (35.8%) have the highest representation of women on their rosters. The report sets a goal of achieving gender parity by 2030 and includes six recommendations for companies that sign, represent, employ and invest in talent.
Recommendations include tracking women’s representation across creator rosters, new signings, hiring, promotions, leadership, investment, ownership participation and attrition, and making every new decision a move toward parity with a goal of at least 50% women across new signings and hires.
The report’s data partner has pledged $63,000 in professional subscriptions to support She Is The Music’s work, in honor of the 63 companies and professionals already in the 50% Club.
“The imbalance we see on charts, festival stages and credits starts long before the spotlight: it starts with who gets signed, represented, and backed. This report looks upstream at those career-shaping decisions, because more equitable rosters can change both the creativity and the economics of music.”
Laura Segura, Executive Director of She Is The Music, made the statement.
