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Music Victoria finds that the Australian music industry is harder for women

Music Victoria has recently published the findings from their state-wide survey of Victorian women in the music industry. The survey was initiated in an effort to address the issues faced by women working in the music industry, and to work on improving the quality of the professional lives of women.

While the paper, Women in the Victorian Contemporary Music Industryis Victorian in its context, it suggests that its conclusions and directions can certainly be applied on a national level. The survey found that, among other concerns, only a quarter (26%) of the respondents earn all of their income from their employment in the music industry and are generally employed in the music industry by small and micro sized businesses that are male dominated. The overarching theme that emerged from the survey results is that of pay inequality, with lack of paid work opportunities; casualisation of the workforce; gendered nature of caring responsibilities; access to opportunities; and the confidence gap between men and women being major contributing factors to the high level of pay inequality.

It was noted that the second largest theme to emerge from the survey was that of the undervaluing of music as an economic commodity which was not considered a gender-specific issue as it impacts the entire industry as a whole. Many respondents stated that they and their fellow musicians had to work other jobs in order to support themselves, with one staying “It takes huge amounts of unpaid work to produce quality work but rent and bills have to be paid so other work often takes over for practical reasons.”

The survey also found that several respondents raised sexual harassment and assault as a major issue facing women in the music industry. This is something that is currently being tackled by a separate task-force, which was initiated earlier this year by the Victorian Government.

One of the respondents, a musician, is quoted as saying “As a female artist I commonly get comments from males saying ‘I didn’t expect you to be able to play guitar so well’.” This sentiment is echoed throughout the survey, with other respondents stating that the biggest hurdle they face as an industry professional is “getting in with the boys club. It’s hard to progress because all the guys stick together in their crews and don’t allow for much movement in the scene.” Another adds that “most positions are hired based on who you know, and who you’re friends with, opposed to experience and capabilities.” 26% of respondents have 6-10 years of experience in the industry, despite that experience, 60% of respondents indicated they earned under $40,000 p.a. while 40% earn under $20,000 p.a.

As the peak body for the contemporary music industry in Victoria, Music Victoria end the paper by suggesting it would be taking a number next steps. These included: convening a women’s advisory panel to develop specific initiatives (e.g. mentoring, networking) that Music Victoria can lead or partner with other organisations to deliver and support women in the music industry; increasing the representation of women and aspire to achieve equal representation where possible on all Music Victoria panels, board, award nominees etc,; participating in the National Contemporary Music Roundtable to develop strategies to grow audiences and increase public respect for Australian music; convening a musicians’ advisory panel to advise Music Victoria on policies and initiatives to ensure musician’s interests are represented on local and national issues; and participating in the Victorian Government taskforce to address the sexual harassment and assault of women inside Victoria’s licensed venues.

You can read the whole report here.