In July, Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Ariana Grande Six women, including Ariana Grande and Charli XCX, are in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for the first time since 2019. Of the eight spots for albums and songs, six are dominated by women – the second year in a row that women have had such high representation in the major categories. In 2024, female artists will dominate pop music.
Yet women have been relinquishing key roles at the big companies that power these superstars — a move that has unsettled other women fighting for inclusion and influence at the top of the business. Of the three major music companies—Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music and Warner Music Group (WMG)—four record labels have female CEOs this year: Capitol Music Group Michelle cheersatlantic music group Julie Greenwald,Epic Records’ Sylvia Rona and UMG Nashville Cindy Mabe. Eleven months later, that number has dropped: Rhone is also one of very few black executives in the major label system, and the only remaining one at a major label on either coast. Many other women have left the music industry’s C-suite this year as part of a major record label shakeup affecting both men and women.
It’s not all bad news for female executives: Mabe is still employed at UMG Nashville; Taylor LindsayServed as Vice President of A&R, Will serve as Chairman/CEO of Sony Music Nashville at the end of 2025. Leigh Greenwald doesn’t take shit from anyone. The message is, ‘Oh my god, look at that. If they can let Julie Greenwald go, anyone can go.
Meanwhile, the CEOs of the industry’s largest streaming services, promotional companies and most agencies are men; as are many distribution CEOs. Things are better in publishing and Nashville, but the industry is largely led by men in top positions. Most of the top independent labels are also led by men.
Jubelirer, Greenwald, Rhone, Mabe and former Motown CEO/Chairman Ethiopian HabutmariamResigning at the end of 2022 with no replacement, Either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
While the reasons for these departures vary, the decline in the number of women at the top of the music industry marks a decade that began with the Black Lives Matter movement and major music companies’ pledges to better embrace diversity, equity and inclusion efforts of regression. as Andrea Gleason“There’s a real danger in not going all in,” the TuneCore CEO said. “In order to drive meaningful change in diversity in your company, you need to commit to it. And that starts at the top.”
Natalie ProspellThe founder and CEO of publishing and live events company Friends Only said she was not surprised by the recent exit. “I knew this was going to happen. Literally, no one wants to stand for anything other than posting black squares on Instagram.
There are still many women in major brand systems serving as chief operating officers, presidents, general managers and other C-level or department head positions. But actual CEOs are still almost all white. By 2024, 49% of women also believe there will still be “pervasive discrimination” based on gender in the music industry, according to the fourth annual “Be The Change” women’s music equality study from Believe, Tunecore and MIDiA Research. Research has also found that women working in the music industry are twice as likely as men to find themselves being paid less than colleagues in the same or similar roles.
“When you look at the scarcity of female executives in the music industry, coupled with how female executives are treated, how can you not question your ability to succeed as a young woman in this industry?” said one former female label executive. .
On the label, Jubelirer was the first to be dropped this year. In February of this year, reports emerged that Capitol and its parent company UMG were reorganizing, and Jubelirer resigned from the position she had held since the end of 2021, becoming the first female CEO in Capitol’s 80-year history. If she stayed, Jubelirer would effectively be demoted from being the leader of her own label family to reporting directly to UMG’s chairman/CEO Lucian GrangeBe part of the newly formed Interscope Capitol Labels Group (ICLG) and report to the Chairman/CEO of ICLG John Janik. she was replaced with Tom Marchis a British-born executive who most recently led Geffen Records, a division of Interscope.
Greenwald then announced in September that she was stepping down from Atlantic Music Group, the company she had co-led for 20 years, becoming the first female chief executive in the company’s more than 70-year history. officials, a similar reorganization was also carried out. She will be succeeded by Grainge’s son Elliot Grainge, founder/CEO of WMG-acquired label 10K Projects.
Motown chairman and CEO Habtemariam resigned two years ago amid rumors that Motown would lose its status as an independent label and be reintegrated into Capitol Music Group , and this eventually did happen. While the record label’s profitability during Habtemariam’s tenure is unclear, Habtemariam increased Motown’s current U.S. market share from 0.85% to 1.30%.
Recent executive departures have added to the unease for some women in the industry, given the challenges these women face in rising to the top jobs. when Steve Barnett Jubelirer retired as CEO of Capitol Music Group at the end of 2019 and was considered by many to be the next in line to succeed him. Instead, the role was given to President of Capitol Records Jeff Vaughn. (Under Vaughn’s leadership, Capitol’s current market share dropped from 7.36% in 2020 to 5.64% in 2021. He was replaced by Jubelirer less than a year). While market share doesn’t fully reflect Capitol Music Group’s financial health at the time, Jubelirer subsequently grew CMG market share by almost a full percentage point between 2022 and 2023.
although Mary RahmaniThe CEO and founder of Moon Projects, a joint label/publisher partnership with Republic Records/Warner Chappell Music, said she entered the major label business with “a lot of female assistants and coordinators,” but There aren’t many female executives to look to. “If anything, they specialize in PR, broadcast and sync. I haven’t really seen many great female A&R or marketing executives and I always wish there were more examples.
Years later, while Rahmani was on maternity leave with her first child, she was cut from the major brand she worked for in a widespread layoff. Looking back on the experience now, she says it “wasn’t personal,” but she believes motherhood is often a reason why it’s harder for women to climb the social ladder in the same way as men (even men with children). “That’s definitely a big reason. I think a lot of women in the middle age class take a step back once they have a family.
exist advertising billboard At March’s Women in Music event, Jubelirer accepted the Executive of the Year award and highlighted another way women face additional adversity in the workplace: their speaking engagements. “Ladies, do these words sound familiar?” Jubelilere addressed the crowd. “‘You’re too emotional.’ “You don’t have to be so direct when you speak. ” We all know that’s code for “stop being a bitch.” “You should smile more.” … We know that showing up as your true self and defying stereotypes about women in the workplace takes considerable perseverance.
In other parts of the music industry, women are doing better in executive positions. While still far from gender equality, publishing is a bright spot. Many of the publishing industry’s most respected leaders are women, including CEO/Chairman of Universal Music Publishing Group Jody GersonChief Operating Officer/Co-Chairman of Warner Chappell, a position he has held for ten years Karian Marshall Founder/CEO of major majors and Reservoir Media Gornar Khosrowshahi and CEO of Peermusic Mary Megan Peele Among large independents.
“This may be the result of a positive feedback loop,” said Khosrowshahi of the publishing industry. “As more women advance to the top of various publishing entities, this will lead to more women succeeding [beneath them]”.
Ironically, while female artists in country music struggle to have their voices heard on country radio, female executives and presidents have a stronger presence in Nashville. Today, the top jobs at three of the biggest brands in town are held by women: Mabe is chairman/CEO of UMG Nashville, Lindsey is about to become chairman/CEO of Sony Nashville, Chris Lacey is Co-Chairman/Co-President of Warner Music Nashville.
Major companies do have women in their C-suite: Alamo, ICLG, The Orchard and Verve all have female COOs juliet jones, Annie Lee, Colleen Theis and Dawn O’Leharrespectively; Julie Swidler is the general counsel of Sony Music Erica Bellarosa Holds same title at Atlantic Music Group; Republic Records counts Wendy Goldstein As President/Chief Creative Officer and Donna Green Serves as Chief Marketing Officer; Capitol (Lilia Parsa),Colombia(Jennifer Mallory), virgin (Jacqueline Saturn), endoscope (Ann Michelle, Nicole Viscojaco),Atlantic(rangeba), 10K items (Molly McLachlan), 300 Entertainment (Rainer Bass), Ada (Kate Credidge) and Empire (Tina Davis) all have women holding the title of president or co-president; women at the top can be found at every major company and personal brand.
But the path to the CEO’s office remains particularly challenging — and even so, some female executives say they still feel excluded from conversations, meetings or other gatherings where decision-making takes place within their organizations.
when greenwald was named advertising billboard After receiving the 2017 Female Music Executive of the Year Award, she spoke about her hope that her platform would educate more of the next generation of female executives. “I love all the women here who raise their hands and say, ‘Listen, I want your chair at some point,'” Greenwald said. “I want people to come and sit in this chair. I want women to come in with tape measures.
The independent music industry offers Rahmani, Gleeson, Khosrowshahi, Prospere and Mirana Rabkin Lewisco-founder/CEO of STEM Disintermedia, is another path, thanks to independent music’s growing market share in the U.S. and overseas. Rabkin Lewis, who got her start at UTA before founding a distributor/brand, said she wanted to run her own independent company because “I had more control. I also wanted to set a new example, I wanted to create my own path, which There may be [fewer] The bumps and obstacles in the road are more important than what people think the road to business is.
Still, one senior female music executive said it’s crucial for the next generation to see women taking on CEO and chairman roles at major labels, especially since “power comes with P&L responsibility, whereas major There are very few women with profit and loss responsibilities in record companies.” Another added, “Major brands are on the front lines…they set the tone for what’s going on in the industry.”
Representatives for UMG, WMG and Sony declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.
