Female mis representation in the festival industry - Drown in sound

http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4148139-guyliners--why-do-uk-festivals-have-so-few-female-headliners

Why do female festivals have so few female headliners?

Hello and welcome to 2014, the year that Dolly Parton played a tiny saxophone at Glastonbury, Dappy was booed off stage at the Isle of Wight and the Fresh Prince played fresh pauper by joining Calvin Harris onstage at T in the Park.

Another banner year for British festivals then? In a way, sure - but not so much in others. The Telegraph recently pointed out that there aren’t really any women headlining the UK’s major festivals this year. And, when you start to look into it, there aren’t really many women playing the main stages of British festivals this year. And, actually, when you think about it, there aren’t really all that many women even playing British festivals this year.

One band turning the tide at Reading is Blood Red Shoes. Making up part of the 15.9% mixed-gender bands playing the UK festival circuit this year, the Brighton-based rock duo are playing the mainstage too. “I think a lot of people don’t want to face that there could be something wrong,” guitarist, singer and songwriter Laura-Mary Carter (pictured above by Mike Burnell) told us when we talked to her about the gender split of British festivals this year. “But if you look at the figures, the ratio of women playing festivals full stop... it’s hard to believe the figures are so different.”


NOISEY VICE

http://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/blog/if-were-going-to-end-music-industry-sexism-the-dialogue-around-it-has-to-change?utm_source=vicefbuk

IF WE'RE GOING TO END MUSIC INDUSTRY SEXISM, THE DIALOGUE AROUND IT HAS TO CHANGE

Ever since Miley Cyrus stepped on stage at the VMA’s and wiggled her flesh-tone PVC pants in the direction of Robin Thicke’s upsetting trousers, the media has gained an obsession with calling out sexism in the music industry. The latest institution to be called-out on its bad form are the Reading & Leeds Festivals, which managed to assemble a 89.6% all-male bill. Gender equality is currently at the forefront of public consciousness so, justifiably, people flipped their collective lid.

(Perfect Pussy, slaying.)

Of course, the Reading & Leeds line-up has always been a bigger broccasion than a Match of the Day panel. What’s changed isn't the percentage of female acts on the bill (last year's was actually slightly higher), but people’s readiness to call out injustice when they see it. But we are still at the stage of identifying problems that are a long way from being fixed, and we have reached a point where discussion of gender in music tends to have an understandably negative focus. Pointing out the wrongs is obviously an important step on the road to change, but with so much criticism and so little progression, have we created a climate that’s just too overwhelmed by negativity?